New Year's Resolutions

I would like to start off by wishing everybody out there a happy new year. This year has been a very hectic year for many Americans. Many people have gone into foreclosure, lost their jobs, health insurance, sanity,money and even their freedom. For instance, there were many people who got caught up in the latest scams out there. There are some pretty unethical people out there who only care about making a fast buck and they do not care who they hurt to get it.

This year alone there have been thousands of Americans who got letters in the mail or email that stated that they are the one million dollar winner and that to just take this check and cash it at your bank and mail me a $2500 for the processing fee. If you ever get these things in the mail or email throw them out or click on report spam on your email account. These are con artists and thieves who want to rip you off. If you are desperate enough to try one of these hoping and wishing that it is not a scam you will be hurt in the long run.

The federal government is not doing anything about this problem. If you were dooped by the scammers and participate your bank could over draft your account to try to force you to pay the difference or they may even be vicious enough to call the police on you and have you arrested. It doesn't matter if you have been with them for years. They call this check fraud, because that is what it really is. The only thing is the people who take these checks to cash at their own banks are totally innocent and also completely oblivious to the whole situation and they are basically left to fend for themselves if their bank cashes these checks.

There have also been many different types of mortgage scams that have hit people so bad that they have lost their homes because of it. The government stepped in to penalize these different companies and banks who practice this. This is the main reason for the mortgage melt down. We are all starting to feel the effects of this, because the interest rates have gone sky high which makes everyone have to pay more on their credit cards, loans, and mortgages. This has also caused a rippling effect, which causes everyone to always owe money.

My New Years resolution for this year is to finally get all of my bills paid of by March so that I can just pay my mortgage and electric bill. I, just like many others out there, I am going to start eating right and exercise daily to be healthier and hopefully happier for this year. It is very stressful for people when they are living paycheck to paycheck and do not even have $10 left over after paying bills, which has to last until the next pay period.

My only advice to everyone out there is do not get a pay day advance or rush off and do your taxes early. You can never pay off a pay day loan, because its designed to keep you coming back. My only way out of one of those loans was for me to work a lot of overtime at my job. The only reason why I say don't rush and do taxes early is, because people usually do not itemize, go through receipts or write down things they purchased during the year. I take doing taxes very seriously, because this is the money that I worked for or lost from shopping that I need to get back to help give me a good boost until the end of the summer. Once again, happy New year to all!