When times are tough and you're looking for any financial help you can get, it's only natural to start thinking about some alternative forms of financing. While payday loans and cash advances can really help you in a bind, it's important you really understand what you're getting yourself into. It's quite possible to find yourself digging an even deeper hole while attempting to just get through a few rough weeks. So, before jumping into a payday loan take a few minutes to learn how they work, what they really cost, and what alternatives you may have available.

Beware of Payday Loans originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 19:31:37.

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The first step in personal financial planning is controlling your day-to-day financial affairs so that you can do the things that bring you satisfaction and help you reach your goals. This is achieved by planning and following a budget. Controlling spending, saving money, and investing for the future are all important aspects of financial planning, but those things mean nothing if you don't have specific goals that you're trying to reach. In order to gauge your financial success, you need to have goals so that you can measure your success. The second step in personal financial planning is choosing and following a course toward long-term financial goals.

The four steps to setting financial goals:

• Identify and write down your goals.
• Break goals down into short-term and long-term goals.
• Educate yourself.
• Evaluate your progress.

More information on setting financial goals.

How to Set Financial Goals originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 21:39:04.

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Life insurance is an important aspect of almost every financial plan, but how can you make sense of all the different policies available? Everyone seems to have their own opinion, and unfortunately there are also a lot of insurance salesmen who may be more inclined to earn a commission than to put you in the best type of policy. So, it's up to you to understand how each type of policy works so that you can decide what's best for you.

Here's a quick overview of the four most common life insurance policies with advantages and disadvantages of each. If you're informed when shopping for insurance you can be sure to get the best policy for your needs and budget.

Comparing the Different Types of Life Insurance originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 09:59:27.

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Credit card debt is one of the biggest problems most people face when trying to get a handle on their finances. Credit cards make it easy to spend more money than you have, and then the crippling interest rates and fees make it seem impossible to get out from under. While there isn't an instant cure for credit card debt, there are steps you can take to put yourself on a path to becoming debt free.

It takes a little planning, a little budgeting, and some time, but if you keep at it you'll find that you're getting out of debt faster than you had imagined. Here's the process to help you eliminate your credit card debt.

Get Out of Credit Card Debt Once and for All originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Sunday, August 15th, 2010 at 20:24:47.

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Have you ever filed your tax return and hoped you could get your hands on your refund early? You're not alone. In fact, this has been a common practice in recent years. Most large tax preparers would offer what's called a tax refund anticipation loan. How it works is they determine how much of a refund you'll be receiving when filing your taxes and then lend you the money immediately so that you don't have to wait a few weeks for the IRS to send you a check. Then when your refund actually does come in it goes towards paying off the loan, less any fees. Sounds good, right?

Well, the problem that this is an expensive proposition. Sometimes they will charge you fees in excess of a few hundred dollars just to get your hands on your tax refund a week or two early. This often translates into an APR well over one-hundred percent. Would you willingly get a loan with a 200% APR? Of course not, but that's exactly what these short-term tax refund loans give you.

Thankfully, the IRS recently issued a statement that says they plan on eliminating the information they used to send to tax preparation services that would allow them to underwrite these tax refund loans. That doesn't mean companies will need stop offering them, but it may curb their wide availability in the coming tax season. That's good news because it's a form of predatory lending not much different than payday loans. Learn more about these loans and what the IRS has to say about them.

Tax Refund Anticipation Loans originally appeared on About.com Financial Planning on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 15:51:21.

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