Credit Card Debt Can Cause Depression

You May Be Getting More than High Interest Charges from Your Credit Cards

First Published Date : May 14, 2015 ADawnJournal.com

You may be getting more than what you are paying for with those balances from your credit cards. A recent study done by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found out that high levels of credit card debt and overdue bills are likely to cause depression.

Based on data collected from 8500 working-age adults, researchers found out that there are significant links between overdue bills, credit card debt and symptoms of depression. Also, depression seems to increase when short-term debt increases. Unmarried people, near-retirement people, and those who are less educated showed the strongest link between depression and debt.

However, mid- to long-term debt and depression had no direct link. The report suggests it is possible that as long-term debts are considered as investments in the future, or people get experienced handling these debts, they will not cause depression like short-term debt.

Another research project mirrored similar findings in 2013 by the University of Southampton and Kingston University in the U.K. A direct link was found between high debt and poor mental health. They found 3 times more mental health problems in people in high debt than those who weren’t in high debt.

What I can tell is that it’s simply common sense that debt can cause health problems. Anyone can realise, even without any researches, that people are still getting into more and more debt.

If you are in debt and have been ignoring your debt problem, it is time to take a closer look and get help. Admitting that you have problem is the first step to get rid of debt and stepping on the path to a better future, both financially and health-wise.

What Is A Social Entrepreneur?

Social Entrepreneurship

First Published: Sep 18, 2011 EntrepreneurJourney.com

Social entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs, but they work on a larger scale. Instead of concentrating on a business or an entity, social entrepreneurs concentrate on social problems and issues and use entrepreneurial skills to solve or change social issues to make society work or societal systems to work better, efficiently, and in harmony with nature and environment.

Social entrepreneurs can work in a voluntary or not-for-profit environment, or can also work in a non-voluntary or for-profit environment, just like a regular entrepreneur. However, their major goals are to concentrate on wide-scale social problems and to offer solutions for entire societies for a better tomorrow.

Social entrepreneurs are visionaries and practical minded to see what the real issues are and how practical the implementations will be. They avoid impractical and unrealistic solutions that may falter for the society as a whole, or solutions that may not be cost-effective or realistic for the long run.

Business entrepreneurs wait to seize the opportunity to identify and come up with products or services to change the face of businesses, to create whole new industries or create brand new markets. Social entrepreneurs take a similar approach, but on a different aspect. They seize the opportunities to change society and various societal systems that bound societies together with innovative solutions and strategies on a mass level for the society and its people.

Let’s look at a few very well-known social entrepreneurs:

Muhammad Yunus - Yunus, a noble laureate, invented microcredit, a loan system that awards very small loans to the poor for starting entrepreneurship.

John Muir - An American naturalist, worked to preserve nature and wilderness. He is the one who established the national park system and also the founder of the Sierra Club.

Florence Nightingale – The founder of modern professional nursing. She also established the first school for nurses. She dedicated and sacrificed her life to improve the health and welfare of all people.

Credit Cards That Provide Free Roadside Assistance

Free Roadside Assistance

If you purchase roadside assistance from providers such as CAA, Canadian Tire, etc. you are looking at spending somewhere around $65 to $100 annually. But why pay for Roadside Assistance when you can have it free? Today, I will provide you with a few credit cards which provide Roadside Assistance for free and you will never have to pay again.

As of this writing (and to the best of my knowledge) there are 4 credit card providers in Canada that offer free Roadside Assistance with their credit cards. These providers are BMO, TD, Home Trust, and Canadian Tire.

BMO provides free Roadside Assistance via three different credit cards, with an annual fee ranging from $79 to $120. Keep in mind that these cards also provide many other perks and benefits.

BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard

BMO CashBack World Mastercard

BMO Shell CashBack World Mastercard

TD’s Cash Back Visa Infinite card has an annual fee of $120 and also provides free Roadside Assistance. Two no annual fee credit cards provide free Roadside Assistance. These are:

Home Trust Preferred Visa and

Triangle World Elite MasterCard

All of these cards provide assistance 24 hours a day across Canada and the USA such as towing, fuel delivery, battery boost, flat tire change, lock out service, winch, etc.

Service Calls per year

Triangle World Elite MasterCard = 5

BMO & Home Trust = 4

TD = Unlimited

Towing Limits

Triangle World Elite MasterCard = 250 km

BMO = 10 km, Home Trust = 5 km

TD = 200 km

There may be other benefits provided by these cards’ roadside assistance programs as well. Find the card that best suits your lifestyle and needs so you can have the best of both rewards points/cash back and free Roadside Assistance.

Your Debt Won’t Go Away Unless

First Steps to Get Rid of Debt

First Published: Published Date : June 11, 2016 ADawnJournal.com

Debt is like a never-ending vicious cycle that’s just hard to terminate. Most people who are in debt failed to realize two simple and basic things that make it impossible to get out of debt. Today, I will talk about what you need to realize first, even before applying other debt-relief strategies.

Accept You Have a Debt Problem – This is the number one thing you need to admit or accept: that you have a problem. Most people failed to realize that they had a problem and that led them to not take any actions to work towards eliminating their debt. Think of an alcoholic who does not admit he is an alcoholic and declines to get any help. The same applies with debt. If you don’t admit it, you will never get help or take steps to be debt free.

Stop Borrowing More – This is another big problem that makes it hard to get rid of debt. If you are in debt and paying your balances slowly every month, it should be OK, right? That’s right. However, the problem is when you are paying your balances, but at the same time borrowing more. It’s like you are paying $200 per month towards you loans, but taking out $300 per month. The end result is you are sinking more into debt.

Obviously there are more steps you need to take to get rid of debt. Paying more towards debt, earning more, consolidating debt, and seeking professional help are only a few to mention. All these will happen as long as you go through the first two most important things I mentioned above.

Tips for Starting or Buying a Business

Buying an Established Business

First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Aug 13, 2011

Entrepreneurs like to build businesses from the ground up by developing ideas and putting the time and effort into it. However, it may not always be realistic to build something from scratch – especially when time is of the essence and ideas seem to not be making sense. Buying an existing business gives some advantages over starting a brand new one. For example, you already have a customer base, a setup procedure that runs the business, and its reputation. On the downside, there is a lot of money to be spent, and you may run into something unexpected, causing you lots of headaches and financial loss. Today, I am going to talk about a few things you should consider before buying a business to make your new venture a smooth and a successful one.

Choose The Right Type of Business – Do not just buy something you are not familiar with just because you think this is where the money is. Buy something that interests you and make sure you have the required skills and knowledge to stick with it for a long time. It is likely that you will be putting in long hours year after year without any break or vacation in your business. If you buy something that does not interest you, for sure you will give it up in just a few months. Also, don’t forget how relevant the business is to your line of experience. If you never drove a taxi cab before or set foot in a garage, it makes no sense to start “Jimmy’s Taxi Cab” – because you are bound to be a failure.

Know You Limits – Have a clear idea of exactly when you can buy, what you can afford to buy, and where you can location wise without constraining your budget.

Get professional Help – It is unlikely that you will know the ins and outs of buying a business. Hiring a professional such as a business broker not only will help you to save time, but will also avoid the unnecessary hassle you need to go through when buying a business. Some of the issues a broker can pinpoint: if the business is hiding anything or has any financial problems, they can inform you on the latest rules and regulations, negotiate with the seller to save you money, help with obtaining licenses and permits to operate the business lawfully, and so on.

Some resources – Here are some websites to help you with your research finding a business.

- International Business Brokers Association

- Biz Buy Sell

- Business Broker

- Business Sell Canada

- Business For Sell Canada

- Biz Match

- Canadian Biz Mart