Personal Finance and Money Management

The impact of the present crisis is being felt by religious institutions and subsequently it will tell on the faith and practices of the next generation. However everything is not negative – suffering has brought people together.

Nearly 3,800 private schools are part of The Association for Christian Schools International. It notes that enrollment has decreased by about 5%. Nearly 200 Christian schools have been shut down or have been merged during the previous academic year. In the previous year it was 150

The Association of Theological Schools represents the North American graduate schools. 8

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NEW DELHI: Customers having multiple credit cards will now not be allowed the enjoyment of using either in case they default on making payments for even one, thanks to stringent measures being adopted by the banks.

As per the prevalent practice, banks are blocking only that card on which there is a payment default and the other cards held by the customer are not touched.

However, the banks have now revised their credit card terms and conditions, pursuant to which all cards would be blocked, if there is a payment default on even one.

The country’s largest personal sector lender, ICICI Bank, has already informed its customers about the changes, coming into effect from October 5, while other banks will soon follow suit. < Full Article

There are several of us that are going through these tough times.  The economy is doing lousy, jobs are getting cut, and unfortunately a ton of us are loosing our jobs or are getting laid off.  If this seems like your situation, you’re not alone.  When we find out that we are loosing our job if it’s permanent or semi-permanent it is still hard to hear.  We think how we’re going to provide for our families, our self, and how we’re going to get by.

Although it’s not as much as we once made, we can file for unemployment.  Unemployment is a great thing because if we loose our job unexpectedly, we can at least rely on some money to come in.  Living off of unemployment isn’t the greatest, but it will help us get by for now.

How to Live Off of Unemployment:

Budget – First of all, you will want to do some budgeting once you find out how much your unemployment is for.  So, take the number that you’re making, subtract all of your bills, and divide the total number by 4.  This is how much you should be spending on a weekly basis.  If you budget you will learn how to stretch a dollar, and learn how to really hold onto your money.

Search – If you’re unsure of when you’re going to get your job back, take a few weeks to get everything in order, and then start looking for a new job.  You don’t know if this will happen again, so it’s best to look otherwise.  Find a company that is hiring, and one that is doing well, well enough to not lay you off.

Coupons – Coupons are a great way to save money.  If you have the opportunity to use a coupon use it!  You can find coupons for your groceries, oil changes, restaurants, and even clothes shopping.  If you do the research, you will be able to find it!  For now, check out buxr.com.

Compare – Comparing prices is the best way to get the best deals.  You don’t want to overpay, and you always want to find the cheapest price.  So, if you compare you will be able to do that!  A great way to find good deals is by shopping online.  I shop online a lot, and spend a lot less than I would in most stores.  One of the places I save the most is on .  You can also buy used which can also be helpful.

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Shop Around

Many consumers spend more than they have to simply because they choose not to shop at a variety of stores, or look at ads in the newspaper. The simple fact is that your favorite grocery store is not always going to have everything you want on sale every week. However, that’s okay! Most Americans live in areas that have several grocery stores, pharmacies, and large stores such as target and Wal-Mart. A great way to save money is to look at each store’s ad on a weekly basis. Recently I found Store A near my home selling a frozen pizza for $6 while Store B down the street was selling the same frozen pizza for $3.75. How

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