Financial Assistance

Lifestyle Choices to Ensure Long-Term Financial Security

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Building financial security is all about finding that balance between planning for the future and living a comfortable lifestyle today. It’s never too late to turn your financial health around and the more committed to a healthy financial…

Online Financial Scams to Avoid

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Technology has made everyone’s lives easier, including criminals. From identity theft to online scams, every year, criminals find new ways to use technology and the internet to commit fraudulent acts. These acts are designed to separate you…

Why Join a Workshop or Webinar with CCCSMD?

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At CCCSMD, our goal is to help you overcome financial hurdles by teaching you how to manage income, credit, and debt. By teaching our clients how to do this on their own, we know you’ll prosper independently with the skills you need to succeed. With…

Budgeting for Travel in Retirement

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Retirement means entering a phase of life where you get to do things you love and have longed to do, like travel. Retirement means an end to the 9-5 grind, but it’s also an end to steady paychecks. This means relying on your savings, pension,…
Budgeting for Savings

Savings Part 1: Budgeting for Savings

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Budgeting for Savings There’s a line item in my budget that I’ve always struggled with – savings.  This should be the easiest line item because it’s my money that I am putting away for myself. But I can’t tell you how many times…

Savings Part 2: Enjoying the Savings Journey

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Enjoying the Savings Journey, One Dollar at a Time I used to get very discouraged with my savings account. As soon as I managed to save $100, some emergency would come up that depleted the balance to zero again.  I knew I wanted to save 3-6…

Savings Part 3: Savings made simple

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Having some money stored away is one of the best feelings I have ever had.  I don’t crave being rich but I do crave feeling secure. Having a savings account buys me that security and makes me ready to face whatever challenges are thrown my…

Take Control of Your Debt

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Debt Management Plans vs. Bankruptcy vs. Debt Consolidation vs. Debt Settlement When you carry high levels of consumer debt, it takes an emotional toll on your life.  The worry that looms over you about your ability to pay your creditors…
CCCSMD. Keys to Budgeting Part 3. Setting up a budget

Keys to Budgeting – Part 3 Setting up a Budget

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I remember being really anxious when I would make a purchase with my debit card and the machine would ask if the charge amount was OK. Even as I touched YES, I didn’t always know if that was true. Before I started budgeting, I would often…
CCCSMD Keys to Budgeting - Part 2. Income.

Keys to Budgeting – Part 2 Income

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With two young children, my tolerance for things being out of control is constantly challenged. There are messes and clutter in every room of the house. The dresser drawers lose their organization just minutes after I put away clean clothes.…
Financial Assistance

How to Cope & Plan for Holiday Financial Stress

As soon as Thanksgiving is over and my husband pulls out the Christmas decorations, my anxiety goes through the roof. My parents are divorced so my husband and I have to balance the holidays with visiting three families.  We also have a…
Financial Assistance

Don’t Leave Money on the Table – Pay Yourself First

Before Thanksgiving comes the benefits-enrollment season, and while most of us know we should be saving more, many people feel overwhelmed trying to figure out their options. The Internal Revenue Service recently announced an increase in the…
Financial Assistance

Hosting a Halloween Party that Won’t Haunt your Budget

Does Halloween invariably freak out your October budget? Research says it deserves its own line item, with the 175 million consumers expected to spend an average of $86.79 – or $9 billion – on the holiday, according to the National Retail…
Financial Assistance

Guidewell Financial Joins National Network of Financial Services Innovators

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Guidewell Financial Solutions , a certified, nonprofit housing and credit counseling provider, has joined the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) - a national network focused on consumer financial health – on Financial…
Financial Assistance

Happy Small Business Week, From Our Small Business to Yours

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The national Small Business Week logo may feature a series of storefronts, but as a leading nonprofit financial counselor for small business owners, we know that many of them operate outside of Main Street, USA. Maryland has more than 580,000…