I just love my bloggers, FB friends & eblast recipients! Once again, you guys helped make the latest segments on ABC NEWS NOW really great!You can view the first segment and then be sure to view the questions and answers, where YOU had your questions answered on the air and WON a copy of Little Book of Big Savings!
Here's part of the transcript
1) ELLIE, 9.7 PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT IS HUGE-- WHAT KIND OF PROBLEMS ARE YOU SEEING AS A RESULT OF THESE NUMBERS?
ELLIE: I think these numbers only indicate part of the problem. For every person we have who is unemployed we have others who have taken pay cuts to keep their jobs or they've had to accept a position significantly below what they had before. Even when the recession ends and we are in recovery, I think we're going to see the contagion effect of unemployment and underemployment.
2) MOST PEOPLE PANIC WHEN THEY ARE NOTIFIED THAT THEY WILL BE LAID OFF. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING A COUPLE SHOULD DO IF ONE OF THEM BECOMES SUDDENLY UNEMPLOYED?
ELLIE: Step one is to "Review and Re-evaluate your Financial Goals." When you go from two paychecks to one, all of the sudden money for your four year old's college fund and/or funding retirement isn't as important as making the house payment. It's time to radically re-evaluate what needs to get paid to survive. Essentially, you will work backwards. Determine what you need for the end of each month to cover the basics (house, car, insurance, credit card bills, food, etc) and then work backward toward that financial goal.
3) ONCE YOU'VE WORKED THAT OUT, WHAT IS THE SECOND THING COUPLES SHOULD DO?
ELLIE: Establish a "One Income Budget." This will, hopefully, be temporary, but you will need to readjust how money is spent until your spouse is employed again. This will include cutting back on expenses where you can. But don't panic. Before you cut the cable or disconnect the internet, look at ways to cut back that are less painful and more productive.
4) YOU HAVE SOME TIPS ON HOW TO DO THAT..LET'S START WITH HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE:
ELLIE: Call the company and let them know you think you are paying too much & that you can get coverage cheaper elsewhere. It's amazing how motivated they'll be to help you reduce costs. You can raise deductibles to cover the big things and then lower those again when your spouse is employed. My literary agent took this tip to heart and discovered he had an old policy that had been grandfathered in, when they updated it, he saved $475!
4B) HOW CAN CONSUMERS CUT BACK ON AUTO INSURANCE NOW THAT THEY AREN'T DRIVING TO AND FROM WORK?
ELLIE: It costs less to insure a car that is no longer driven to and from work. Go to http://www.progressive.com/ to get comparison quotes on your auto insurance, then call your provider and ask for all the discounts that are available to you. Most clients I've worked with save an average of $350.
4C) THIS NEXT TIP CAN SAVE YOU AS MUCH AS FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR... CLIPPING COUPONS?
ELLIE: Whether you live on one income or two, you still have to buy food. By taking ten minutes to go to http://www.couponmom.com/ before you shop, you can save as much as $4,000 per year. The site does most of the work for you as it tells you what is on sale, what manufacturer's coupons are available, what other store coupons are offered and the final price of what you'll pay. There are dozens of items each week that cost only pennies or are free.
5) IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE FAMILIES THAT ARE UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED SHOULD DO DURING THOSE ONE INCOME SEASONS?
ELLIE: Proactively Plan for Your Financial Future. Just because you're unemployed does not mean you should enter the panic mode-this can lead to poor financial decisions. Go get help at the National Consumer Credit Counseling service (nfcc.org) which is a non-profit that won't make you accrue more debt as the "for profit" counseling services will do. Oftentimes the nfcc knows the programs that you may qualify for in order to keep your house, renegotiate with lenders and help you proactively plan for your financial future.
Congratulations to Kristen Whirrett of Fort Wayne, IN; Ruth Schmidt of Willard, MO; Stephanie Woods of Sheperdsville, KY; Karen Power of Keller, TX; Rachel Morales of Victorville, CA and Kathy Hansen of San Diego! You guys had the questions selected by the producers of ABC NEWS NOW - GOOD MONEY show!
Ellie Kay
Americas Family Financial Expert (R)
http://www.elliekay.com/
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