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 Preshow #1 CreditReturn to index of stories... |
Now on New Hampshire Outlook -- Outlook on Money! Dealing with the credit card crunch. How one college senior has taken charge of her cards. Plus: |
| Preshow #2 Budget Return to index of stories... |
Meet a woman who's learning to live on a budget. And later: |
| Preshow #3 Saving Return to index of stories... |
Learn how to move toward self-sufficiency and a lifetime of saving. |
| Hello/Intro credit Return to index of stories... |
Hello. I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to New Hampshire Outlook. In this program we're talking about money -- and how to hold on to that hard earned cash. Most of us would rather spend money than think about how to manage it. In the next half hour you'll meet some people who have taken control of their money -- and successfully overcome some of the financial challenges that many of us face every day. We begin with a look at managing credit card debt in this "Outlook on Money" report. |
| Youth Debt Return to index of stories... |
Credit Card Debt N1 - Becky Schwab was barely out of high school when she learned how easy it is to get credit. Becky 1417 - "I just applied for it and I was approved for it, and they gave me a hundred dollars credit. That was the first amount I got." N2 - And it didn't take long to spend it. Becky 1446 - "It was very exciting. I had a hundred dollars in my hands that I thought, wow, I can use this, I can buy what I want with this, and it was, I remember buying the first thing that I bought and it was very exciting." N3 - Becky is a University of New Hampshire senior. She lives in Concord with her family. The first item that showed up on her credit card statement was a backpack. Many other items soon followed. Becky 1530 - "I remember buying stuff that I really didn't need. I bought the backpack, I bought clothes, I'd go out to dinner with friends, I'd go to the movies. I would just spend it on things that I really didn't need to have. And it just accumulated so fast. I mean, it was incredible how fast it just added up." Carol 235ish - "We know that many college students have a lot of issues with money; a lot of them work very hard to earn money, but it's more important what they do once they've earned it." N4 - That's what Carol Bischoff wants to teach students. She works with Project C.A.S.H., a program supported by the University of NH to help students manage money and avoid debt. Carol 210 - "And the primary goal is to help students at the University become more aware of both credit and cash, and how they use it." N5 - Karen Blass helped start project C.A.S.H. It stands for creating a savings habit. Karen 215ish - "And we wanted to involve students in the project too. We felt that it would be far more effective to have peer educators go out and to work with students and share their experiences." N6 - Peer educators talk to students about money and credit issues. Karen 700ish - "The latest statistics done by Nelly May indicate 83% of undergraduates have a credit card. They average number of credit cards between students is somewhere between 4 and 6. / Also an interesting statistic is that out of the students who have credit cards as freshman, 3 out of 5 of those students will have maxed it out by the end of the year." Becky 1555 - "I started with a 100 dollar credit limit and then over three or four months when I was consistently paying off my bill, they would raise it, and it went up to 200, and then it went up to 500, and then it was1000, and every time it kept going up I kept using it. So eventually, I think by the time it was all said and done, I had used about 6,500 dollars worth of credit." N7 - By the age of nineteen, Becky found herself with 20 credit cards. Yes, twenty. Becky 1640 - "Yeah, because what I would do is I would open one and then when the interest rate would start to get high I would switch it to a zero percent card, and then as soon as that six-month period was up at zero percent, I would switch to another zero percent card." Dan 5720ish - "If you look at the statistics 45% of college students have over $3,000 in credit card debt and 10% of them have over $10,000 credit card debt." N8 - Dan Hebert is president of the NH Jump$tart Coalition. The group teaches financial literacy to young people. He says those young people spend a lot of money and credit card companies know that. Dan 5700 - "They target college students because kids spend money. I mean teens, American teens on average will spend $91 per week. That makes them, if you add it up, that makes them a $169 billion dollar industry." On-Camera - Many freshmen are particularly vulnerable to credit card debt. They are on their own for the first time. Few are financially literate and quickly find themselves in trouble. Carol 530ish - "Some extreme circumstances were so bad that there were students who actually committed suicide because of the credit card debt. The credit cards and all their bills they had spread out all over their bed. Just a terrible, terrible, unnecessary tragedy, so we want to be sure students have the information and know that there are other ways that they can get help, and help them make better decisions." Becky 1835 - "When I got up to that 6500 that was in January 2003, I was having nightmares and panic attacks about my credit card debt, and I decided I had to stop, and I created a budget which is something that I had never done before." N9 - And she cut her credit cards into pieces. Becky was then able to save some money. Becky 1905ish - "And that is what I started doing, I started putting three or four hundred dollars down a month on my credit card which killed, but I did it because I had to do it." Carol 950ish - "One of the real key factors we look at, and try to help students focus on, is, if you're thinking of buying something- is this a want or a need? And often times, if you can really get it down to just that basic, they'll also be able to see that they really don't have to purchase some new outfit or, whatever it might be." Standup: Once you decide whether something is a need or want, then it's time to figure out how you're going to pay for it. Dan 300ish - "First and foremost I would say get a checking account and have a debit card attached to that checking account. And use that debit card in place of a credit card. That credit card should only be for emergencies as a college student. Now the reality is that it isn't going to happen. But if in fact you do use your credit card, keep track of your purchases, make sure you pay it off every month and operate on a budget." N10 - By the way -- Becky's $6,500 credit debt has been cut in half. Becky 2145 - "I am not where I want to be, I still have a long way to go paying off my credit cards, but I've definitely learned a lot from it. I have learned that I can't trust myself with credit, and once I get rid of this credit card I am going to get a card with a low credit limit, like 500 dollars and I am only going to use it for emergencies or basically I will use it for things that I can pay off every month, like if I get gas with it I can pay that off every month." |
| Tag Youth Debt Return to index of stories... |
Just a note about credit cards -- the first one was used in 19-50. The "Diners Club" cards were honored at 27 different New York City restaurants. |
| Intro Budgeting Return to index of stories... |
According to the Consumer Credit Counseling service, Americans pay more than 50-billion dollars a year in finance charges on their credit cards. So, why use credit when cash costs so much less in the long run? Many financial planners say it's because we don't live within our means. How do we do that? With a budget. |
| Budgeting Return to index of stories... |
N1 - Joyce Block's days are busy. She takes care of five children in her family daycare, while home-schooling her youngest daughter. Joyce 3155 - "I have two children, a 19 year old and a 9 year old. I am self employed and I've run a daycare for the past 9 years." N2 - But, while Joyce focused on the children, it seems she neglected her finances. Joyce 3236 - "I had to rely a lot on my parents helping me out financially on purchasing cars, to pay bills, on friends, on working a lot of long hours and also getting financial assistance through the state as well." N3 - It's not how she wanted to live. Joyce realized she needed a budget. Joyce 33:45ish - "Just so I could learn to make it on my own as a single parent and wouldn't have to rely so much on asking my parents for financial assistance." 00:00:18 - "HOW GOOD ARE PEOPLE IN BUDGETING THEIR MONEY? Faye: They're pretty bad at it. Most people would like to have a budget but are not very realistic about their budgets." N4 - Faye Doria helps her clients create a budget they can live with. She's a financial planner in Dover. Faye 300ish - "You can go on a starvation diet for a month, maybe six weeks, but after that time your not going to stay on it, because it's too restrictive, and it's the same way with spending, you can't go on a complete spending diet for very long, what you need to do is change the way you eat, change the way you spend." On camera - Faye asks her clients to first think about the way they spend - to do some accounting. She helps them compare their incomes with how much they spend. Carefully, they'll list where their money is going, from mortgage payments to grocery bills. Faye 50ish - "Then I look at their take home pay, at their paycheck, calculate their take home pay and tell them they are 10,000 dollars off, they have 10,000 dollars more take home pay then they can account for. And I say where did it go?" Joyce 3810 - "We were shopping way too much, at the store two or three times a week stopping at the convenience store to buy milk and soda and things we didn't need, chips, we were doing a lot of wrong things." N5 - So Joyce enrolled in classes. She learned how to budget the money she earned. Joyce 3500ish - "It's very strict, I came up with four courses, and after combining all the courses I came up with something that works for me, decided against eating out and stopping at stores. Credit cards were bad things because I couldn't afford to pay the interest rates on them any more, so I got rid of all of them" Faye 214 - "WHAT DOES A BUDGET DO FOR YOU? Faye: A budget lets you prioritize and be able to have money to spend on the things you really want to spend money on, so if you really want to spend for retirement, or for your kids to go to college, or saving for a down payment on a house, or that dream vacation, this lets you know that you are going to be able to meet that goal." Joyce 3618 - "I have completely cut out renting movies, we use the Rochester public library for books and movies. We only buy clothing that's on sale, or buy all second hand." Faye 731 - "WHO NEEDS TO LIVE ON A BUDGET? Faye: Everybody that isn't saving at least 10% of their income, I say to people if you are saving at least 20% of your income you don't need to have a budget because you've already solved that problem, but surprisingly those are the people that have budgets. " Joyce 3600 - "I try not to go outside of my budget at all, I also have an emergency back- up savings account so if I have an emergency I have that and I don't have to ask family, so I am able to have some flexibility there." Suzann 1:13:20ish "I compare not budgeting to a person who is going on road trip without a map. They are going to end up someplace, are they going to end up where they wanted to end up, maybe, maybe not, it's the luck of the draw." N6 - Suzann Knight is a Family Resource Management Specialist for the University of New Hampshire's Cooperative Extension Program. 1:13:45ish "Without a spending plan a person is without a map, they are going through life earning income, however their 'wants' want them to spend the money. And when they get to their destination, whatever that destination may be, college, education for children, retirement, a house, whatever that destination, will they achieve it? It's a 50/50 chance. It's the same thing as a person driving a car trying to go two towns over without a map." Faye 915ish - "ARE THERE SOME BASIC STEPS TO FOLLOW OR SOMETHING YOU COACH ALMOST ALL YOUR CLIENTS ON WHEN THEY COME IN? Faye: What we look at are little incremental things, and the easiest way to save is before you get that money. So, in raising their 401 k contribution amounts, even if its by 1 percent of pay, trying to have things automatically deducted from their checking account or pay check so that the important things are paid and taken care of before they have to put the money in the check book and spend it." On camera - Faye suggests limited use of these. Avoid frequent trips to the ATM. Faye 1440 - "I think if people are really having spending issues, going to cash is one of the things I suggest and so I say to people 'figure out what your cash allowance should be for a week.' You go to the ATM once a week and you take out that amount of money and then you have to live on that amount of money for the week, you can't go and get 50 dollars every time you want it." Joyce 3950 - "We've been on it for over four years, I don't find any thing difficult about it, I find it easy and less stressful. The bills are on time every month, you're not stressing oh my god I spent too much and now I can't pay the light bill, it seems less stressful living on a budget, and knowing where every penny of our money is going every month." N6 - Joyce has cut her debt by six thousand dollars. She's now saving for a home. For NH Outlook, I'm Beth Carroll. |
| Tag Budgeting Return to index of stories... |
If you'd like to learn more about managing your money you can contact the UNH Cooperative Extension for information about their Money Management Workshops. The number is 1-800-248-6672. |
| Intro Saving & Invest Return to index of stories... |
There was a time when Americans were cash-rich and house-poor. Then, we became house-rich and cash poor. Today, we're credit dependent and cash broke. And experts say the situation has become critical. How do we turn the tide? It's simple: Save. Where do you begin? We asked a few experts and a local woman who gained control of her debt -- for some advice. |
| Saving & Investing Return to index of stories... |
Savings and Investing Kim 215ish "When I first became a single parent household, I was only working part time. I was living in public housing and so I was getting some subsidy towards my rent, and I was definitely struggling, it was difficult." N1 - Kimberley Diemond was living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet for herself and her young daughter. The thought of saving and investing money seemed foreign to her. Kim 145ish "I didn't have any kind of an emergency savings, never thought about retirement, never considered, considered owning my own home but never really thought that I would." Tom 340ish " WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE PERSONAL IMPLICATIONS OF NOT SAVING? I'm seeing some real hard and not very pleasant news about that in some cases." N3 - Tom Sedoric is an investment advisor based in Newington. Kim's situation, he says, is not unusual. Tom 750ish "Right now our savings is the lowest rate it's ever been since they've been measuring. It's right around 1%. So if the average for a long period of time is around 8, and right now we're saving 1%, we're living way beyond our means. And it's not a very encouraging picture." STAND UP: So why have savings? What if you suddenly lost your job? The rule of thumb is have 3 to 5 months salary set aside for unexpected life events. Investing, on the other hand, is putting money to work for you long-term. Retirement is one of those long-term goals. But how should someone begin? Tom 2440 "Reduce their debt. And that means, establish a plan to aggressively reduce your debt. And that means, cut up the credit cards. Get rid of them. Stop using them. Reducing debt is one of the ways that you can immediately start freeing up cash, to save money and pay yourself." N4: Easier said than done? Dan Hebert of the New Hampshire Jumpstart Coalition. Dan Hebert 10812 "So if the individual gets paid this week, the first thing they do is take a portion of that pay according to the budget they've established and put it away and then live off the rest. That at least gets you into that sort of rhythm. Also, if you're company offers you a 401K matching program… perfect way, you never really see that money. It comes out of your pay going into your account. You manage it that way." N5: Kimberely did just that…. She began by taking a hard look at the basics. Kim 340ish "I started looking at what my money values were, what my goals were, whether or not what I was doing in my daily life was going to help me fulfill those goals." N6- Kimberely's goal was self sufficiency. To reach that goal she gained control of her debt. Kim 355ish "The first thing I did was, I took my credit card that I had a pretty large balance on and I converted it into a personal loan so I could knock down a lot of the interest and a lot of the time that I would have been paying on it." N7 - That personal loan was paid off in three years. By then she had a budget. Kim 250ish "And I've gradually gotten more and more involved in being able to take care of, not only my monthly spending and the budget that I have to live on but also planning for what am I going to do when I retire and what am I going to do when Sarah needs to go to college and how are we going to be able to afford our own home and all of those kinds of things." Tom 1454 "There's a very interesting statistic now that I find very troubling, it's that something like 70% of the national population thinks that they're more likely to fund their retirement by winning a game show." N7A- Glamorous but not realistic. Tom 1400/1520ish "I encourage people to save more than they think they can, and this little concept of pay yourself first is something that people forget. / So I think that the idea of saving, whatever, an hour's worth of work or 10% of your income or a fixed amount is absolutely fabulous." Kim 500ish "I started a small savings account. And after a while, I enrolled in the 401k program at our employment and I put a small amount - our company matches, very generously - so I put a small amount weekly into that." N8 - Kim is 32 years old. Tom says start investing for retirement as early as possible. Tom 2050ish "If you start early, it can really add up. But that shouldn't mean that if you're starting a little bit later you should avoid it, because if you're starting a little bit later you can still catch up. I've had people that have come in in their 40's and 50's that have said, I know what I've got to do and this is how I'm gonna do it, and they're committed, and they do exactly what they said they were gonna do, and they're now retired very comfortably." N9- For Kimberely that type of reward is a ways away. Today, she's satisfied with what's she's planned, learned and accomplished. Kim 615/1020ish "It just kind of gives me a feeling of being empowered to say that I can make it, I can do it on my own. / For me, the greatest thing would be to have everything that I wanted and to have my life set and exactly the way that I wanted it to be but the next best thing is knowing that every day I'm working towards it so I will get there someday. And that's what keeps me going, is knowing that I am doing concrete things in my life to make sure that that happens." |
| Tag Saving & Invest Return to index of stories... |
According to the National Retirement Planning Coalition more than 40-percent of American households have saved almost NOTHING for retirement. |
| Intro Family Biz Return to index of stories... |
It's clear that whether you're managing debt, budgeting or saving for the future, you need a plan. Family-run businesses are no exception. According to the Family Business review 90-percent of all businesses in the United States are family owned. It's believed that number may be slightly higher here in New Hampshire. 40-percent of those businesses will soon be passing the reigns to the next generation. How will they survive? It'll take continued hard work and planning. As we learn in this report first filed by Allison McNair in 2000. |
| Goodnight Return to index of stories... |
That concludes this edition of New Hampshire Outlook. Thanks for watching. I'm Beth Carroll. I'll see you next time. |
| key:economy/business Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 8/28/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 09:00 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook: dealing with the credit card crunch. How one college senior has taken charge of her cards. Meet a woman who's learning to live on a budget. Learn how to move toward self-sufficiency and a lifetime of saving. Hello. I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to New Hampshire Outlook. In this program we're talking about money and how to hold on to that hard earned cash. We'll give you some strategies you can follow that really work. Clearly most of us would rather spend money than think about how to manage it. In the next half hour you'll meet some people who have taken control of their money and successfully overcome some of the financial challenges that many of us face every day. We begin with a look at managing credit card debt in this "Outlook on Money" report. PRODUCER/REPORTER: NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Becky Schwab\UNH Student, Carol Bischoff\Wellness Educator, UNH, Karen Blass\Educator, UNH Cooperative Extension, Dan Hebert\President, NH Jump Start Coalition. |
| key:economy/business Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 8/28/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 08:00 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook: dealing with the credit card crunch. How one college senior has taken charge of her cards. Meet a woman who's learning to live on a budget. Learn how to move toward self-sufficiency and a lifetime of saving. Hello. I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to New Hampshire Outlook. In this program we're talking about money and how to hold on to that hard earned cash. We'll give you some strategies you can follow that really work. Clearly most of us would rather spend money than think about how to manage it. In the next half hour you'll meet some people who have taken control of their money and successfully overcome some of the financial challenges that many of us face every day. According to the Consumer Credit Counseling service, Americans pay more than 50 billion dollars a year in finance charges on their credit cards. So, why use credit when cash costs so much less in the long run? Many financial planners say it's because we don't live within our means. How do we do that? With a budget. PRODUCER/REPORTER: NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Joyce Block\Living on a Budget, Faye Doria\Financial Planner, Beth Carroll\NH Outlook, Suzann Knight\UNH Cooperative Extension. |
| key:economy/business Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 8/28/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 09:00 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook: dealing with the credit card crunch. How one college senior has taken charge of her cards. Meet a woman who's learning to live on a budget. Learn how to move toward self-sufficiency and a lifetime of saving. Hello. I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to New Hampshire Outlook. In this program we're talking about money and how to hold on to that hard earned cash. We'll give you some strategies you can follow that really work. Clearly most of us would rather spend money than think about how to manage it. There was a time when Americans were cash-rich and house poor. Then, we became house rich and cash poor. Today, we're credit dependent and cash broke. And experts say the situation has become critical. How do we turn the tide? It's simple: Save. Where do you begin? We asked a few experts and a local woman who gained control of her debt -- for some advice. PRODUCER/REPORTER: NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Marlborough,Kimberely Diemond\Saver,Tom Sedoric\VP of Investment,Tom Sedoric\A.G. Edwards & Sons, Beth Carrol,Dan Hebert\NH Jump$tart Coalition. |
| key:economy/business Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 8/28/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 05:00 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook: dealing with the credit card crunch. How one college senior has taken charge of her cards. Meet a woman who's learning to live on a budget. Learn how to move toward self-sufficiency and a lifetime of saving. It's clear that whether you're managing debt, budgeting or saving for the future, you need a plan. Family-run businesses are no exception. According to the Family Business review 90% of all businesses in the United States are family owned. It's believed that number may be slightly higher here in New Hampshire. 40% of those businesses will soon be passing the reigns to the next generation. How will they survive? It'll take continued hard work and planning. As we learn in this report first filed by Allison McNair in 2000. PRODUCER/REPORTER: NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: |
| key: family/ marriage Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 8/28/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 05:00 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook: dealing with the credit card crunch. How one college senior has taken charge of her cards. Meet a woman who's learning to live on a budget. Learn how to move toward self-sufficiency and a lifetime of saving. It's clear that whether you're managing debt, budgeting or saving for the future, you need a plan. Family-run businesses are no exception. According to the Family Business review 90% of all businesses in the United States are family owned. It's believed that number may be slightly higher here in New Hampshire. 40% of those businesses will soon be passing the reigns to the next generation. How will they survive? It'll take continued hard work and planning. As we learn in this report first filed by Allison McNair in 2000. PRODUCER/REPORTER: NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: |
| key: UNH Return to index of stories... |
NO UNH stories |
| Tonight 7:30 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook: Join us tonight at 7:30 only on New Hampshire Public Television. |
| WEB PROMO Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. . Tonight at 10pm on New Hampshire Public Television. |