How to Information Resource Guide

Financial planning often gets a bad rap. Part of the problem is self-inflicted, since some industry participants would rather sell you a product than address your financial concerns. The process of planning is important, though, whether done with a professional or on your own. After all, you wouldn't leave on a long trip without looking at a map - a poor analogy for some of us men, but you get the idea.

A payday loan is a small, short-term loan (typically up to $500) without a credit check that is intended to bridge the borrower's cashflow gap between pay days.

A credit score is a numerical index which represents an estimate of an individual's financial creditworthiness. It is based on a subset of the information in an individual's credit report. Lenders, such as banks and credit card companies, use credit scores to determine credit limits and interest rates.

Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. A declared state of bankruptcy can be requested or initiated by the bankrupt individual or organization, or it can be requested by creditors in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed. However, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the bankruptcy is initiated by the "bankrupt" individual or organization.

Finance addresses the ways in which individuals, business entities and other organizations allocate and use monetary resources over time.

The term finance may thus incorporate any of the following:

• The study of money and other assets
• The management of those assets
• As a verb, "to finance" is to provide funds for business.

Money funds (or money market funds, money market mutual funds) are mutual funds that invest in short-term debt instruments. They provide the benefit of pooled investments, as investors can participate in a more diverse and high-quality portfolio than they otherwise could individually. And like other mutual funds, each investor who invests in a money fund is considered a shareholder of the investment pool, a part-owner of the fund.

The first money fund - The Reserve Fund - was established in 1972, enabling the small investor to invest in these instruments. Today, more than 1300 money funds are in operation, with total assets of over $1 trillion dollars.

When you find yourself thinking about using a credit counseling service, you need to be very careful. You need someone who will help you, not just some pushy sales associate who wants only to sign you up for their service.

There are many reasons why people get into debt - some of them self inflicted and some of them way outside of our control. Losing a job, illness or accidents, all of these can suddenly plunge one into unexpected expenditure, and often the only way to deal with the emergency is to use debt. There is a tendency, however, to keep on borrowing once you start. This is because the process becomes so easy - credit card companies and banks seem keen to throw cash at you, and the interest payments, when regarded individually, often seem insignificant. Before you know it, you are deep in debt, owing money to several institutions and card companies, and the bills are mounting. This is the stage when one starts to notice infomercials and TV ads for 'debt consolidation'.