ORLANDO – Ties, toys, tinsel and traditions like shopping have dominated winters for Americans for many years. But such traditions come at a price, often a very high price, contributing to consumer credit card debt that has reached $857.6 billion. Holiday spending has helped saddle American families that carry credit card debt from month to month with average balances totaling $15,328.
“There is good news, Americans also have a tradition of making resolutions on New Year’s Eve,” said Etta Money , President of InCharge Debt Solutions. “Every American, including the 37% of consumers with unsecured debt, should make a New Year’s resolution to their families to solve their financial stress in the coming year. Today’s technology offers tremendous tools that can make these resolutions become a reality in 2013.”
Here are five apps that can help Americans manage their money more effectively:
Expensify – this app helps users sync their bank accounts with their credit card accounts in real time, also providing an expense report helpful for tax preparation.
Gas Buddy – provides the best gas prices by zip code, city and state to give consumers access to the best savings on fuel purchases.
Grocery IQ – shoppers can prepare their list, group them by food type and find coupons when they are available.
Red Laser – by simply scanning a product’s barcode, this app will let you know if and where it is available at a lower price.
Pageonce – this app lets users manage all of their financial information in one location, including bill payments.
There are plenty of apps that help locate the closest ATM machines (without facilitating a fee), hotels and restaurants offering coupons, plus programs like Mint.com offers turnkey money management tools. Nonprofit InCharge Debt Solutions also offers a complete array of budgeting tools and calculators at http://www.incharge.org/money-101/personal-finance-calculators
InCharge Debt Solutions provides an array of certified counseling services including an alternative to debt consolidation that allows consumers to consolidate credit card bills into one monthly payment, pay debt off faster, lower interest rates regardless of credit score, stop collection calls, eliminate late fees and build a budget and financial plan to follow:
Bankruptcy Education and Counseling: Take required pre-filing and pre-discharge courses and receive counseling from certified staff. Call 866-729-0049.
Credit Counseling: Certified credit counselors give free, confidential counseling (online or by phone) and offer an alternative to debt consolidation through debt management programs and free budgeting assistance. Call 877-486-4924.
Housing Counseling Services: Get help with HUD-approved foreclosure prevention, first-time homebuyer education and free counseling. Call 877-251-1882.
Servicemember Help: Specialized help for military families facing financial difficulty. Call 877-258-9549.
Online Counseling: Free, comprehensive web counseling provides budget building tool, analysis and available solutions from your computer. Visit: www.incharge.org
