Some of the articles that have been posted to the site effectively preach ‘DRAMA’. It’s not like we don’t already know what is going on! Drama is ok in a newspaper but it doesn’t get the job done for the everyday Joe!

The way to overcome financial dome & gloom is to have a goal, and a plan to achieve it. Most importantly make a habit of it!

There is an opportunity coming over the next 6-10 weeks for some- TAX REFUNDS! – Yeah!  With the new financial year upon us perhaps there are a few New Financial Year resolutions we could put into our physcie?

A key component to all this is to understand your cash flow. What comes in & what to go out, more importantly when it has to go out. Budgeting becomes an important part of this.

Budgeting needs to be thorough. It has to include annual needs like House insurance, cars through to white good replacements and alike. There are several software packages available which can assist in this area. And if you would like to be pointed in a direction I can suggest you contact me & I would be more than happy to assist. However budgeting is only the start of the process.

Once you have an idea on how and what monies are available you can start to build on a strategy to get yourself in order or ahead. It might be to make sure you have got Xmas & school holidays covered.

Then you need to make sure you have automatic payments organized where practical. So that you can’t forget to make payments. Have them set up around you pay cycle.

However if the numbers don’t add up and there is more going out than coming in, (not just now but perhaps in the next month or two) then there are a few different strategies that can be opted for. Some involve insolvency processes, not all do & there are approaches which help re-engineer debt and reduce repayments for the longer term.

In a lot of instances, it will not be just one approach that will help you through these tougher times but a combination.

By Peter Jean and Ben Packham – Courier Mail

June 11, 2008 08:44am

• Demand for home loans has slumped in the wake of high rates
• Economist tipping property will be depressed for rest of year
• In-depth: The latest interest rates news and features

DEMAND for home loans is crumbling as would-be buyers are scared away by high interest rates.

Economists predicted yesterday that the property market would remain sluggish for the rest of the year.

The number of loans taken out for owner-occupied homes in Australia fell by 3 per cent in April, to a seasonably adjusted 57,503, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed.

It was the third month in a row that home loans fell across the nation.

Economists had forecast a 1.9 per cent fall for the month.

The slump suggests interest rates and soaring fuel prices have caused a serious slowing of the economy.

“Consumers are being battered from all sides,” Comm-Sec chief economist Craig James said.

“It’s not just the Reserve Bank lifting rates, it’s the fact that individual banks have been forced to lift rates, the cost of petrol has been going up, food is going up. It’s all putting pressure on people’s budgets.”

Mr James said the figures were “super-weak”, capping the biggest slump on record.

“This isn’t just another modest drop. This has been the third significant fall in home lending,” he said.

“We’ve had something like an 18.4 per cent fall in new home loan lending in the past three months.

“We haven’t seen a decline like that ever before.”

He said the slump would have a serious impact on the supply of homes, given rising immigration levels.

On the up side, Mr James said there was now little chance of an interest-rate rise before the end of the year.

“The Reserve Bank certainly doesn’t need to be following up with any further interest rate action at this time,” he said.

“The economy has already responded, slowing down significantly.”

Macquarie Group senior economist Brian Redican said the high interest rates would keep stifling the depressed housing market.

“There’s certainly no sign of a turnaround in the housing market, probably for 2008,” Mr Redican said.

“Until we start to see interest rates fall, and that certainly seems a long way away at the moment . . . all the risk remains on the downside.”

Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale said though the property market was subdued, there was still a shortage of homes for sale and available for rent.

“HIA has maintained for some times that Australia needs to produce 175,000 to 180,000 new residential dwellings a year to meet current and anticipated demand,” Mr Dale said.

Everybody talks about budgeting, the real challenge is making it a habit, so that when your time or something gets in the way of you doing the budgeting regularly you will get back to it in a timely fashion.

When it comes to managing cashflow for bills, savings, playing and alike the “ I want’s and the I need’ can get in mixed up and our priority’s are misplaced.

There are some handy tools to be had from the internet and they don’t always cost.

In managing your money it pays to account for 1) all the aspects of your lifestyle and 2) know when these commitments are needed to be paid or met.

In looking forward you can then as certain when you may be a bit short & can take action to overcome at the appropriate time.

Finance know how has several systems, strategies and professionals who can assist in help you to achieve a better balance in your finance handling.

Do you have multiple credit cards you can’t make repayments on, is your mortgage costing you too much money, has your employment situation changed lately? It’s hard to sometimes maintain repayments when situations change.  Veda Advantage reported in November 2007 that:

Four in five Australians in debt now worry about their ability to make repayments over the next 12 months, according to a new Veda Advantage study. The study also found close to 2 million Australians admit finding it difficult to make repayments or they are unsure how they will make their next repayment – raising concerns about a new debt divide between Australians who are struggling and those who are still managing to meet their financial obligations.

There are solutions for this, best thing to do is not allow it to get worse and contact a Finance Broker who can help you with your problems. Finance Know How has experienced brokers that Know How!

Latest RBA increases are making the average home loan go up more than $50 per month. Every time interest rates go up, so do your repayments. If you are having difficulty in making your repayments, you should consult the services of a mortgage broker and discuss ways to stabilize your mortgage repayments. These options may include fixing your rate, or debt consolidating. First thing to do in the event that you miss your mortgage repayment, should include getting on the phone to your lender and making alternative repayment arrangements. Next step would to be revising your monthly budgets. At Finance Know How we have tools that can make this easier for you. Ask us about Simply Budgets.