Managing your debt

Of all the news surrounding the death of Michael Jackson yesterday, this one struck me: "Michael Jackson lived like a king, but died awash in debt". As a matter of fact, he was nearly $400 million in debt! That's a lot of mullah! It seems that just like a lot of other Americans who got in over their heads with loans they should not have received, even someone as rich as Michael Jackson did the same! This just shows that it doesn't matter how much money you make or how much you are worth, you need to be working with a financial advisor to help you manage your investments and your debt. This story reminds me of an NBA player years ago, who had to move in to his parent's house when the NBA was going through a lockout, which meant that the players were not being paid their salaries until it was settled. So this guy who was making around $2 million per year, could not keep up with his bills and had to make some major changes to his lifestyle. So what does this mean for the average Joe making a living but feeling the pinch of the current economic recession? Talk to someone about your situation and get a fresh set of eyes on the problem. Someone without bias can spot areas that can be addressed for change better than you. I once helped a couple save over a hundred dollars a month by pointing out that switching cell phone carriers and getting a better plan was better than having no land line. You see, even though they thought they were saving money by not having a land line, they were paying over $200/month in cell phone charges! You have to let someone look at your whole budget to see what's really going on. It might humble yourself, but the time to get out of debt is now, not later! The lawyers and accountants are going to have a lot of fun going through Michael Jackson's financial records!