Smartphones are becoming a necessity for many people today. Unfortunately these phones don’t come cheap. In addition to the initial cost of buying the phone, you have to pay for your monthly plan. People also frequently pay for additional accessories (such as improved battery chargers) and downloads from app stores for personalizing the phone. All of this can lead you into a situation where you’re spending more money than you should on a phone. If you find yourself in the position of reviewing debt consolidation plans and trying to settle credit card debt but you don’t know where your money is going then you may want to look at how much you spend on your phone each year. It’s good to know which smartphones offer the best deal in terms of their cost. Take a look at the differences between the iPhone 3GS and the Android G1 and you can see that some phones are better than others when it comes to cost.

The iPhone 3GS is generally considered a better phone than the Android G1. There’s a lot of hype about the iPhone and much of it is well-deserved. However the Android G1 is a highly capable smartphone and it may be a lot more affordable than the iPhone 3GS is. First of all, the Android phone is cheaper to purchase; it runs $50 cheaper than the iPhone 3GS when purchased with a contract and is a full $200 cheaper when bought without a contract. Moreover, the monthly bill on this phone is cheaper; the total monthly cost of an unlimited voice, messaging and data plan is approximately $35 cheaper with the Android than with the iPhone 3GS. If you don’t need an unlimited plan then you’re looking at a savings of about $35 per month when getting an average usage plan on your Android G1 compared to your iPhone 3GS.

But do you get more for your money when you spend the extra to get an iPhone? It doesn’t appear that that’s the case. The average usage plan for the Android phone gives you a full 100 extra minutes of talk time for a price that is $35 per month lower (and both phones come with unlimited data and messaging). Both phones have WiFi, GPS, voicer commands, cameras that are comparable to one another and similar battery life in terms of talk time. The iPhone 3GS does offer longer standby time before recharging is needed and it offers more on-device memory storage. However it doesn’t offer multitasking features which the Android G1 does offer. Both phones allow you to download applications from their individual stores. The iPhone store may offer more apps but it also offers more apps that cost money. The Android store is growing and can be added to by a variety of developers so costs for downloading apps vary and may be cheaper than iPhone apps depending on what you want to download.

So what does all of this boil down to? Even if you need a smartphone, you may not need the phone that you think you need. If you’re having trouble with debt then you should look into finding a smartphone that meets your needs without costing so much. There are a lot of modern phones out there that don’t have to cost as much as the one that you think you love. Plus you can further reduce what you spend on your phone by limiting the apps that you pay for and reducing your plan if you don’t need as much talk time as you have. Instead of trying to settle credit card debt later, try to reduce your spending today. Instead of looking into debt consolidation plans in the future, try to reduce how much you are adding to your debt right now. Being smart about your phone means you’re being smart about your money.

The holidays are a mixed bag of emotions for many people. On the one hand, we get excited about all of the wonderful things that we get to experience during the holiday season. On the other hand, the holidays can be a highly stressful time of year. A lot of that holiday stress comes from financial concerns that crop up during the holidays. Right after the holiday rush a lot of people have to start looking into credit card debt negotiation, debt consolidation plans and other ways to settle credit card debt because they spent too much money during the Christmas season. If you can avoid going in to debt this year then you can enjoy the holidays more fully. If you cut back on your spending in three areas – presents, travel and parties – then you should be able to minimize the amount of debt that you acquire during the holidays this year.

The biggest problem area for a lot of people is the problem of Christmas presents. There are certain people in our lives to whom we feel obligated to give Christmas presents. This ends up costing us a lot of money. If you can find a way to buy fewer presents this year then you will have found a way to minimize your need to settle credit card debt once the holidays are done. The key here is to talk to the people in your life with whom it’s reasonable to discuss the problem. Parents, adult siblings, friends and spouses are all people that you can talk to about holiday spending. Most of us are in the same position of dealing with financial difficulties and we can help each other out by relieving each other of the burden of spending a lot of money on presents. Agree to only buy gifts for the kids, do a holiday potluck instead of exchanging gifts with friends or do a “white elephant” party where each person buys for only one other person in a group. These methods reduce what you spend on Christmas presents and help you avoid the need to review debt consolidation plans at the end of the year.

Next you may want to reconsider your travel plans for the holiday season. A lot of people travel to their hometowns for the holidays. Some go for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Others go to both their own parents’ homes and their in-laws. Consider whether or not that’s a smart Christmas investment this year. Maybe you can plan one big family get-together in the spring instead when travel fares may be cheaper. Or perhaps you can go to just one gathering instead of several. Or maybe you can get with the 21st century and use the Internet and video conferencing to bring everyone together in one space on Christmas even though you’re in different parts of the country. Barring that, at least reduce your travel costs by looking for good deals on travel, keeping costly travel activities to a minimum and eating at home with the family instead of dining out in restaurants during the trip. All of these things reduce your holiday spending and help you keep out of debt so that you don’t have to look into credit card debt negotiation after the holidays.

Finally you’ll want to make sure that you keep your spending limited when it comes to holiday parties this year. Holiday parties are pricey whether you are throwing them yourself or just attending a variety of different events. Attendees feel the need to dress up, make sure they have fresh haircuts, bring a bottle of wine with them and even bring gifts for their hosts. To keep the costs down in this area you’ll want to limit yourself to the number of parties that you choose to attend. Make do with the clothing that you have in your closet already instead of buying dressy new clothes for the event. And stick to bringing an affordable bottle of wine or even a homemade dessert rather than a gift. These things all help to make sure that you don’t rack up a bunch of credit card debt by attending holiday parties and keep you from needing to settle credit card debt later on. And all of that makes it a lot easier for you to fully enjoy the holiday season!

The Credit Card Reform Act of 2010 is one of the best things that President Obama has done for the consumers of this country so far to date. Problems with credit card debt plague a large percentage of Americans. This new act will make it much easier for consumers to avoid some of the major pitfalls of credit cards which cause debt to get so out of control. It’s important to know what the act means for you so that you can be a smarter credit card user once the act’s regulations go into effect. It’s also important to understand that now is a really great time to look into debt consolidation plans and debt settlement options so that you can start with a cleaner slate when the Credit Card Reform Act regulations take hold.

What you need to understand about the Credit Card Reform Act of 2010 is that it is designed to hold credit card companies to higher standards. These standards are designed, in turn, to protect consumers from getting themselves into excessive trouble with credit card debt. The Act makes it so that credit card companies have to keep their rates fair (by prohibiting them from raising rates in the first year and putting strict rules in place about when and how rate reviews and increases must occur). The Act also makes it much easier for you to actually pay down your debt (by requiring clear information from the credit card company about the amount of time repayment will take, prohibiting certain fees and double billing and requiring credit card companies to apply your payment to the highest interest portion of your balance first). Finally the Act makes it a lot harder for people to get a credit card when they are under the age of 21 which is important because people tend to get into the most trouble when they get credit cards at too young of an age.

What all of this means for you is that you’re going to find it easier to understand what is going on with your credit card payments and that you should find it easier to pay off your debt on new credit cards. Additionally, you’ll be dealing with much fairer credit card practices once these regulations go into effect. However it also means something for many people right now. It means that now is the best time to look into debt consolidation plans and debt settlement options for your current debt. Many of the credit card companies have begun to arbitrarily raise their interest rates knowing that this new law is going to take effect. This proactive approach by the creditors has in turn caused financial hardships for many consumers. When interest rates on credit cards increase minimum payments typically increase as well causing people’s budgets to become negative on a monthly basis. If you can get a handle on your existing debt then you can start with a clean slate when these improved rules become the norm for credit card companies. That’s the best way to take full advantage of the benefits of the Credit Card Reform Act of 2010.

Christmas is the one of the best times of year. We get to spend quality time with our loved ones, travel back to our hometowns and celebrate the ups and downs of another year gone by. However Christmas is also the worst time of the year in the sense that it is the time of year when a majority of people spend more money than during any other time throughout the year. Right after Christmas we often see people searching for smart debt settlement options so that they can settle credit card debt accrued during the holiday season. Christmas presents are the biggest reason that so much money gets spent each year. If you can save money on Christmas presents this year then you can avoid having to look into credit card debt settlement services once the season is over.

The top three ways to save money on Christmas presents this year revolve around the idea that if you get organized now then you can avoid having to deal with trying to settle credit card debt later. First, you need to look realistically at how much money you can afford to spend on Christmas presents and budget your holiday spending accordingly. Second you need to start buying now so that you have time to get good deals and do smart comparison shopping so that you can stick within your budget. And third, you have to avoid getting sucked into the holiday spending frenzy that starts with Black Friday sales and continues through Christmas Eve. If you can plan what you want to buy and shop around to buy it in a smart way then you can avoid getting yourself into the kind of holiday spending trouble that will have you looking at debt settlement options come Christmas.

The next three ways to save money on Christmas presents this year are all about finding ways to reduce the cost of the presents that you do buy. The first thing that you should look at doing is making homemade presents that are affordable to make and really give something of yourself to the recipient. Christmas cookies, photo scrapbooks and DIY crafts are great examples of good affordable Christmas gifts. Next you should look at cheaper alternatives to the gifts that you’re planning to buy. Instead of getting your nephew a Wii get him a game for the game console that he already has. And finally, don’t be ashamed to do some re-gifting. It’s totally appropriate to give an unused gift to someone else if you don’t want it for yourself. If you avoid spending too much money on presents then you can avoid having to deal with credit card debt settlement services when the New Year rolls around.

There are four more ways that you save money on Christmas presents this year and these ones have to do with the logistics of shopping and spending. First, pay with cash whenever you can because then you can avoid added fees and interest rates on credit cards. Second, look into 0% interest rate credit cards or retailer options for deferred spending so that you can buy now and pay later without any penalties. Third, make sure that you’re not spending money on yourself as you do your shopping. Many people shop in a manner akin to “one for them, one for me” which increases debt considerably. And finally, be aware that excessive holiday spending will mean that you start the New Year with a lot of debt. It’s great to settle credit card debt using the credit card debt settlement services that are available but it’s even better if you can avoid going into debt over the holiday’s altogether!