Business

Johnson Funding and Harrison Funding Won’t Help With Your Budget

Published

4 years ago

January 3, 2021

Harrison Funding and Johnson Funding may be running a debt consolidation scam according to multiple personal finance sites. Harrison Funding has begun flooding the market with personal loan, debt consolidation and credit card relief offers in the mail with the website My Johnson Funding. The problem is that the terms and conditions are at the very least confusing, and possibly even suspect.

The interest rates are so low that you would have to have near-perfect credit to be approved for one of their offers. Best 2020 Reviews, the personal finance review site, has been following Harrison Funding, Johnson Funding, Taft Financial, Georgetown Funding, Credit 9 and others.

The holidays are just around the corner, and they bring with them lots of festivities and joy. Another, not so fun thing that accompanies the holidays is the urge to spend. Statistics show that the average consumer easily spends $1000 or even more on the holidays.

The issue here is, if you’re swiping your credit card or taking some money out of a savings account to pay for all the decorations, presents and everything else, you are likely to find yourself in a lot of extra debt by the start of 2021 and in need of credit card consolidation.

Don’t worry,though; your wonderful Christmas shall go on!

The best way to enjoy your holiday season to the maximum without having to worry about future debt is by making a holiday budget and following it to the THere is a step-by-step guide to creating the perfect holiday budget that will make sure you have a merry Christmas without falling in debt. You don’t want to end up in a position where you don’’t take out a loan because you don’t qualify.

1. Determine the Total Amount You Can Spend

The very first step should always be to estimate just how much you can afford to spend this holiday season so you don’t . Only then can you create a reasonable budget and start purchasing the gifts.

To estimate your total spending amount, be sure to consider all the expenses of the holiday season. It should generally include the money you will spend on:

Gifts for your family, friends and coworkers.
Wrapping paper for the gifts.
Any holiday cards and postage.
Travel costs if you’re flying to be with family.
Decorations for your tree.
Entertainment for your holiday guests.
Food if you’re hosting Christmas dinner or a party.

An excellent rule to follow is to set aside approximately 1.5% of your total annual salary for your holiday budget. This is around two weeks’ worth of income. Your total budget for gifts should be no more than half of this amount, which is around one week’s pay.

2. Figure Out Who You’re Buying For

Now that you know how much you can spend in total, it’s time to figure out who you’ll be spending money on. Buying gifts randomly and then deciding who you can give them to will often leave you with extra stuff lying around.

To avoid this, create a proper list of all the people in your life that you want to buy a present for this holiday season. Then, set up a points system instead of having a specific dollar amount for each gift. This will allow you flexibility in picking out the gifts and make your Christmas shopping a lot easier.

For example, you can give 3 points for immediate family members and best friends, 2 points for close friends and dear cousins, 1 point for everyone else like coworkers or distant relatives.

Add up the total points, and then divide it by your gifting budget to find the money to spend per point. Now, you can easily multiple it by the number of points to find out how much to spend on each person. You can also consider redistributing the points if you feel like you aren’t giving enough to certain people.

The most crucial factor to remember is that you stay within your budget, no matter what.

3. Create a Proper Shopping Plan

Once you know how much you can spend on each relative or friend, it’s time to make a solid shopping plan. Do your research and lookup online stores before heading to the mall. You can often find exclusive holiday sales or discounts online that may not be available in-store. It will help you cut back on your expenses and perhaps spend on new clothes for a holiday party or a bigger tree.

4. Try DIY-ing Memorable Gifts

Remember, gifts of time are way more special than gifts of money. You can show your family and friends how much they mean to you by setting aside some time over the weekend to DIY a few unique gifts.

Homemade gifts are highly personalized and more memorable than anything you buy off the counter. After all, you know what your best friends would like better than any retailer or mall shop. Look up videos on YouTube or search for DIY gift ideas on Pinterest to help you out here.

Some Tips To Adjust Your Budget

You might find yourself a little short on money when you start buying gifts and decorations. Here are a few quick tips you can follow to adjust your budget and still have a good holiday.

Sell Unwanted Things

If you need to give your holiday spending budget a boost, don’t reach out for your savings! Instead, consider de-cluttering your closet or storage space and take out all the things you don’t need. Things like tools, clothes, collectibles, electronics, and home goods can fetch you a fair price on Craigslist. You can even have a little garage sale for all these items to increase your holiday spending a little.

Stop Yourself from Indulging

A good practice to follow, especially a few months before the holiday season, is to cut down on indulging. Instead of grabbing your morning coffee from the local Starbucks and going to the movies every weekend, try to make your coffee at home and stay in every now and then. These expenses may not seem like much, but over a few months, you’ll find yourself saving up an impressive amount.

The Final Words

There you have it! All the steps you need to follow to stay within budget and not end up with stressful debt over the holidays. If you need further help or guidance, consider talking to a credit and debt counsellor. They will help you create your budget and offer useful solutions to get you out of debt ASAP.

Business

Retire Smart, Save More: How MDRN’s Virtual Planning Model Can Slash Retirement Costs

Published

3 days ago

October 8, 2024

Rosario Farell

The media is calling it a “retirement crisis.” Millions of Americans are arriving at retirement age woefully unprepared.

Some studies suggest that 45 percent of the Baby Boomers have no retirement savings, while 28 percent of those who have started saving have less than $100,000 put away. Consequently, many Americans now living in retirement or approaching that season are looking for ways to cut back on their expenses.

Aaron Cirksena, founder and CEO of MDRN Capital, has a solution for those looking to retire smart and save more. His firm’s completely virtual model increases retirees’ spending power by decreasing the fees associated with retirement planning.

“Our unique approach to providing retirement planning services allows our clients to experience significant savings when compared with the traditional model of investment management and retirement planning,” Cirksena shares. “When we did away with the overhead expenses that stem from operating a brick-and-mortar office, we were able to create a fee solution for our clients that is lower than the typical advisor. On average, our fees on the entire client portfolio tend to run 30 to 40 percent lower than the typical advisor operating under a conventional model. Additionally, we can provide services like estate planning, tax planning, and tax preparation at no additional cost.”

MDRN Capital is revolutionizing retirement planning by offering a comprehensive range of services, including income planning, investment management, tax planning, healthcare, and estate planning, in a setting that exceeds the efficiency and effectiveness traditional providers are able to offer. Unlike traditional firms, MDRN Capital leverages the power of digital tools to deliver comprehensive services without the need for in-person meetings, allowing clients to enjoy their retirement while their financial needs are expertly managed.

“My goal with MDRN Capital was creating a completely virtual firm that could more efficiently provide the convenience clients wanted while also meeting their ongoing investment needs,” Cirksena shares. “MDRN Capital’s virtual model empowers an environment in which we could serve our clients with less costs to the firm and pass the savings on to them.”

Financial planning for the new normal

MDRN Capital’s innovative approach to retirement advising emerged as a result of Cirksena’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to social distancing, advising during the pandemic shifted to virtual appointments. When social distancing was no longer necessary, Cirksena expected his clients would resume their pre-pandemic patterns. He was wrong.

“My clients let me know they preferred the comfort and convenience of virtual meetings to the hassles associated with having in-office meetings,” Cirksena says. “They didn’t miss sitting in traffic and searching for parking spaces, and I couldn’t blame them. Even the clients who lived only a few minutes away decided they would rather meet via Zoom than have a face-to-face meeting in our nice Class-A office space.”

MDRN Capital was designed to meet the client expectations that emerged during Covid. By leveraging technology to take his services to his clients rather than expecting them to come to him, Cirksena made advising more convenient and more cost-effective at the same time.

Financial savings for struggling retirees

Recent studies show the high inflation the US has been experiencing has a larger than average impact on many retirees. In response, many are looking to tighten their belts by cutting back on spending, but reducing the fees associated with retirement accounts is something few consider.

“For retirees, lower gas and grocery costs are certainly helpful,” Cirksena says. “However, cutting their investment management costs in half puts dramatically more money in their pocket over time than lower prices on goods ever could.”

To understand the impact MDRN Capital’s approach can have on retirees, consider that $250,000 earning seven percent over 20 years will grow to $967,421.12. Factor in a 1 percent fee, and growth is limited to $801,783.87, but raising the fee to 2 percent causes earnings to fall to $721,034.70.

Cirksena points to his industry’s failure to embrace modern technology as one reason why investment fees remain high.

“Unlike many industries that have used and adopted technology for decades to help lower costs and make services more efficient, the financial services sector has lagged behind,” he explains. “Many firms continue to incur unnecessary overhead and expenses, which their clients pay for in the form of elevated fees.”

The virtual investment environment Cirksena has created moves retirement planning into the future. It provides a financial service experience that is convenient, comfortable, and efficient while also ensuring that none of its clients’ investment potential is wasted on unnece