Hispanic Personal Finance Is Unheard Of

You mention Personal Finance to Hispanics and they will look at you like you are crazy. The reason why is because they take their finances personal. Hispanics do not like talking about their financial situation with other people. Parents of Hispanics never share how they are doing financially. That is why you will rarely see Hispanics attending finance seminars and reading books about how to retire with money.

Hispanics are not looking to retire with money, they are looking to spend time with their grown up kids and their grandchildren. Hispanics work for what they can attain now not in the future. That is why many Hispanics are caught in the rat race of making payments on everything they own from their mortgage to their vehicles to their electronic purchases.

Hispanic Spending is a disease without a cure and it keeps spreading. Hispanics never teach one another about money because they don't like to bring up the subject. You want to make someone feel uncomfortable, start talking about debt and financial struggles. But like any addiction, its hard to help someone who will never admit that there is a problem.

Hispanic Spending is a problem and the future of Hispanic people is at stake because if you can educate Hispanics about money, they can become self reliant and not dependent on the government. I am Debt Free Hispanic.

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$40K Tuition, No Hispanic Debt, No Student Loans

Tuition rates keep skyrocketing! No wonder many Hispanics are not able to finish college. Hispanics that do finish college do so with an enormous amount of student loans. The truth is that many can finish academically but financially they are not capable of paying for the next semester. That is why Hispanics tend to borrow more money from the government. To be honest that is why the government is willing to lend more money to Hispanics.

Borrowing money is always an option for Hispanic students. It's scary to think about the amount of money that is borrowed every semester from students attending colleges and universities. It's like nobody is willing to work and save for what they want anymore. Yes, education is an investment but invest your own money not the banks money. I cannot explain to everyone the feeling of finishing College and Grad school with Zero Debt, no student loans, no Sallie Mae. I get to keep my paychecks now, its awesome.

Was it always awesome? No. I hated having to pay large amounts of money because I didn't receive scholarships and grants. I hated to save up money just to pay for school when everyone else had nice cars and nice clothes and the latest gadgets and computers. The only scholarship that I received from an outside source was through Hispanic Scholarship Fund (http://www.hsf.net/). In order to apply I had to be going full time so I signed up for three graduate level courses and I was working full time and working as a youth minister at a local church. This was the busiest time of my entire life and I did so just for the chance of receiving a scholarship. One day in the mail when it was time to pay my tuition, I received a check from Hispanic Scholarship Fund in the amount of $2,500 made out to me. It was made available through Target Corporation (http://www.target.com/) and so now they have a Hispanic customer for life.

Can students really graduate debt free? If they work while they are in school and apply for all the scholarships and grants they can get, it could be done. All I know is when I have a child I am going to open up an Educational Savings Account for that child so they won't have to work as hard as I did. I'm debt free hispanic and I have already changed my family tree by being the only one in my family to recieve a bachelors or a masters degree. I may be the only one without Hispanic Debt as well. http://www.debtfreehispanic.com/

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Debt Free Graduate

On May 15, 2008, Fabian, Debt Free Hispanic, also became known as Debt Free Graduate.

As I look back at my academic career I realize that graduating without debt is possible. I attended a private University and still graduated debt free. How did I do it? I worked and I worked some more and I didn't rely on Sallie Mae to fund my studies. But not everyone can afford college, right? I couldn't afford it as well going in to college but once I stopped buying stuff I didn't need, not paying car payments and focussing on school instead of material possessions, I started to afford college. I wanted to spend on clothes, eating out, purchasing the new electronic gadgets, Apple computers. But I did without and I paid for my Masters of Arts in Management degree in CASH.

Not only did I graduate debt free but since I was using my own money I did the best that I could and I finished with what people would say is an impressive 3.85 Grade Point Average (GPA). See my grades below for proof. When you spend your own money instead of taking out loans, you tend to make better grades. Listen, my mom only has up to a middle school education and my dad has up to a 6th grade education, its not about what you came from but from where you can go. I love my parents and they have been my support through my education but I know that I was financially doomed going into college but with perseverance and hard work, I am done and 100% debt free.

-Debt Free Hispanic Graduate

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Credit Card Debt Consolidation

Credit Card Debt Consolidation

The more I talk to people about debt the more I realize how much people are in need of help. The idea of getting out of debt is just that, an idea. I started to look into debt consolidation to see why it even exists. I came across a page by MSN Money and another by http://www.bankrate.com/ and Bankrate actually has a Credit Card Debt Consolidation Calculator. I entered in an average amount of Credit Card Debt and this was my result making minimum payments:

Result

I entered a $10,000 balance with a 19% interest rate. I put that my minimum payment is calculated using 2.78%. My fixed minimum payment was $278 every month. The result was mind boggling; it said that it will take me 330 months to be rid of my debt. In that time, I will pay $12,931.51 in interest alone.
Based on simple math, credit card debt consolidation will work. The only thing is that you must be motivated to get out of debt and stay out of debt. If you consolidate your credit card debts, be sure to change your spending habits or you will find yourself in financial trouble.

Solution

So what company do you choose, how do you even start the credit card debt consolidation process? Good question, what you will want to do is your homework and do not sign up for something you do not understand. Also do not work with a company that has a bad track record for helping people. I was speaking with Robert Smith, the owner of Advanced Credit Solutions, and he was telling me about the amount of companies that are ripping people off because this type of business affects a lot of people in America today.

Robert Smith is founder of Advanced Credit Solutions or (ACS). He is a money coach and takes great pride in helping individuals and families turn a stressful financial situation into a fresh start. ACS offers a variety of programs to help people get out of debt including debt settlement, debt consolidation, debt arbitration and budgeting services. ACS was established in 2001 celebrating our 7 year anniversary this month. They have a great track record not only with the BBB, (Click to view BBB report), but with their clients as well. ACS is a proven leader in the debt settlement industry and services clients nationwide.

ACS and Debt Free Hispanic have decided to offer a Free Personal Financial Consultation to anyone who needs help with their credit card bills and unsecured debt. Please call 1-800-508-8793 from 12 noon -11 p.m. EST and tell them you heard about them from Debt Free Hispanic.

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Hispanics Carry Cash

I hired a company to come to my house every other Saturday to cut my front and back yard for $25. Some might say, why don't you just cut the yard yourself. Truth is I could but I think my time is valuable and I spend my weekend with my wife which is more valuable to me then spending hours outside cutting the yard. Needless to say that the last time the company came to cut my yard I didn't have the right amount of cash I needed cash back. Four Hispanic men cut my yard and when I went to pay them, they all offered to give me cash back. I told my wife about the situation and I got to thinking, its dangerous to be carrying around cash. I used to think that but now I think its even more dangerous not to carry cash and only pay via debit card.


I went to the Dave Ramsey Live event here is Dallas, TX and Dave says that its harder to spend cash rather than plastic. The reason is because of the emotional connection that we have with money. Don't believe me, make your next big purchase with cash and see how it feels to let go of Benjamin Franklin. Americans went from Cash to Check to Plastic cards. It's amazing how fast our currency is changing but also the way we think about money is changing. I noticed that Hispanics do pay with cash and the only problem with that is that Hispanics spend their money because they have it at their fingertips. I think America should go back to the days when grandpa used to pay with cash but was frugal enough to save for their children. -Debt Free Hispanic

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Hispanic Weekend Spending

I cannot even imagine the amount of money that Hispanics will spend this weekend. Stimulus check have been sent out and Hispanics have money. The electronic stores will be full of Hispanics since we tend to spend a lot of our money on Entertainment. So stereos, televisions, DVDs, cable and now GPS systems are our downfall. I encourage everyone to save their money and not spend it on junk they don't need. Pay your debts off and start building wealth. -Debt Free Hispanic

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Income Tax Stimulus Check

So did you receive your check yet? My wife and I did, through direct deposit. As promised by the government, $600 per person. I put it straight into our savings account. If you are in debt, I would use it to gain traction on your debts. Pay off your small loans or credit cards and call to cancel them and cut them up. Get it past you and move forward using cash instead of credit cards. Break the bad spending habits and enter the new wealth habits.

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MINT : Free Personal Finanace Software

Attention all Hispanics! Here is a cool easy to use online tool for managing your money. It can combine your accounts so you can see where you are spending your money. The site is http://www.mint.com/ and is easy to set up a new account. The best part of this program is that its FREE. So log on and start tracking your expenses. It even gives suggestions on how to save money and where to cut back. I give this site and A for user friendly. - Debt Free Hispanic

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