| How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Posted: 27 Oct 2020 01:00 AM PDT It may seem easier to just ignore it, but your unmanaged credit card debt will haunt every step you take. It may sound like a daunting task, but you can pay off your debt with order and dignity! To attack your debt effectively, use the following strategies. [Edit]Tackling Your Debt Wisely - Make more than the minimum payment. Credit card companies love it when you pay just enough to get by every month. At that rate, you're mostly paying off interest and barely scratching the surface of your actual debt. Look at your most recent credit card statements to get a ballpark figure on what your monthly interest is, then budget as much of a payment as you can over that amount to actually see a difference in your statement.[1][2][3]
- If you want to know how much above the minimum you should pay, remember what interest is. Interest is the price you pay for money, and creditors always want you to pay interest before anything else. So making the minimum payment is usually only enough to keep your interest from compounding your debt into the stratosphere—to keep it where it is, in other words. You want to try to pay enough each month to get beyond the interest and into the principal.
- Pay off debt with the highest interest rate first. It goes almost without saying, but it's something that a lot of people forget. If one credit line is charging you 11% Annual Percentage Rate, or APR (interest over the course of a year) while another credit line is charging you 9% APR, focus all your attention on the debt that falls under 11% interest rate. Pay it off before even touching the other debt. Sure, the other one will accumulate interest in the meantime, but since you're paying interest either way, you might as well do it at the lower percentage.[4]
- If this process seems too hard, try snowballing your debt. If your interest rates are all roughly the same or you're simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of payments you have to make each month, make the minimum payments on all but the lowest balance––which you should attack aggressively so that it disappears quickly. Once it's gone, add the payments you would have paid on the lowest debt to the minimum payment on your next-lowest debt until it, too, disappears. Repeat until all debts are cleared. The sense of satisfaction you will feel in making fewer and fewer payments each month will make the process more bearable and help you achieve your goal.[5][6][7]
- Talk to your credit card companies. Explain your financial situation and ask if there is anything they can do to help. Many will lower your interest rate for a period of time and/or waive current late fee balances to give you an opportunity to catch up.[8]
- If you've been a customer of theirs for a long time, mention that. While some credit card companies don't care about customer loyalty, more than a few do. Those that do sometimes go to great lengths to keep their customer base happy and loyal, whatever the circumstances.
- If at first you don't succeed, ask someone more important. If you can't make any headway with the first persons you speak with, ask to speak to a supervisor. If that doesn't work, ask to speak to the retention department. If that doesn't work, call back in a week or two.[9]
- Come prepared. Be sure to compile a list of other offers you recieve. Know your interest rate terms. Check out the rates that competitors are offering.
- Never close cards with existing balances. It might seem like an easy way to get a handle on your debt, but it'll do horrors to your credit score, and you'll still be on the hook for the debt.[10] All this will do is send your credit utilization (your available limit v. your current debt) down, further driving down your credit score. Learn more here on how to increase your credit score.
- If you feel like you must close an account, you need to pay it off extremely quickly, and you need to make sure that the company records that it was closed at your request and not theirs. Make this request in writing.[11][12]
- Move your debts around. Let's be clear, transferring money from a credit card with 12% interest to a card with 0% interest may damage your short-term credit. However, barely chipping away at your debt because your interest is too high will damage your finances in the long-term. Shop around for long-term, low- or no-percent interest rate transfer opportunities, or look into transferring some of your debt onto a low-interest card that you already have. Keep the following in mind:[13]
 - How long the low interest rate will last. Depending on your total debt and how quickly you think you can pay it off, 0% interest for six months may not be as good a deal as 2% for 18 months.
- The amount of the transfer fee. When transferring, you usually have to pay a certain percentage of your debt up-front. Make sure that a) you can afford this transfer fee and b) the fee is less than you would have paid in interest during the introductory period. Usually, transferring to a low-interest card will involve less fees than transferring to a no-interest card. Weigh how much time you expect it will take to make a dent in your debt when choosing to transfer.[14]
- What the interest rate will be after the introductory period ends. Will it jump up to 18% after 12 months? If it does, will you have paid off enough debt by that time to make that jump worth your while?
- How long you will be required to keep your balance with the company. Since credit-card hopping has become a popular way to avoid paying interest, some companies have begun stipulating that if you transfer your debt to another card before a certain amount of time has passed, the normal interest rate will be applied to all your previous balances retroactively, leaving you with a huge new debt.[15]
- Make sure to read all the fine print! Credit card companies are nothing if not resourceful in finding ways to take your money. Look for all the catches above and more, such as transfer fees and ballooning interest rates, before making any decisions.[16]
- See what you can liquidate to lower your debt. No one likes doing it, but sometimes it needs to be done. If you just bought a car, a memory foam mattress, or a new jacuzzi, think seriously about whether you really need these items, especially if you're paying for them on installment. Liquidating your big-ticket items now will mean less financial hardship for you later on.
- Always try to find the sales venue that will get you the highest resale value. Think eBay and jewelers, not pawn shops.
- Get creative and do the math. For example, if you have a car payment, if you can sell your car (even for less than the note is worth) for enough to pay off a card balance or three with higher interest rates and perhaps pay off the interest on the car note, then it makes financial sense to do that.
[Edit]Budgeting Your Money Like a Pro - Track your spending. It's one thing to make mental notes of things you've bought over the month, but it's another thing altogether to see them add up on paper. This is especially true if you use a credit or debit card (people tend to spend more freely if they pay with plastic) or pay for things using multiple accounts (and therefore never really see the net total). Manually tracking your expenses will not only help you make better decisions, but also identify areas in which you don't even realize you're overspending.[17][18]
- Develop a budget for yourself. It isn't enough to just throw a random payment at your credit card(s) every month. Instead, create a strategy, put it in writing, and budget your other expenses around your credit card payments. Here are some popular ways to save money and reduce your debts:
- Spend your tax refund wisely. For a lot of people, a tax refund is a windfall at the beginning of the year. If you anticipate getting a tax refund this year, resolve to set a sizable chunk of it aside in order to pay off some of your debt.
- Sacrifice a small luxury (or three). For example, don't buy that coffee on the way to work every day; make one at home for a fraction of the cost. Don't buy your books, DVDs, or CDs; just borrow them from your local library. Don't buy lunches for work; just make them at your home. (Pressed for time? Even something as simple as a sandwich or a salad with a hard-boiled egg makes a great lunch. Prep it the night before if necessary.)
- When you're stressed, treating yourself to the little things can feel like a necessity, and to a certain extent, it is. However, there are much cheaper ways of going about this. Instead of waiting in line for an overpriced mocha, bring a thermos of tea to the park and watch the autumn leaves fall. Instead of going out to dinner with your friends next Friday night, invite them to a potluck at your place. There are plenty of creative ways to cut back without feeling like a Spartan.
- Build an emergency cash fund. Credit cards are often our go-to resource for unplanned expenses (the alternator dies, you get sick and miss work, etc.), but this can undo months of payments and completely demoralize you. A better idea is to tuck some money aside strictly for emergencies.[21][22][23]
- This doesn't have to be a drain on your income. Remember those expenses you are cutting back on? Instead of simply not spending, try actually setting aside the money you would have paid on one or two of those expenses (for example, bar money every Friday night, manicure money every-other Sunday, etc.). Create a (free) savings account, put it in a CD, or even hide it in a cookie jar.
- Remember that this fund is for emergencies only. Break your leg? Go ahead and dip in. Want to upgrade your phone? Find the money somewhere else.
- Don't relax your spending habits because you've successfully paid off some debt. Once you start to see that credit card balance go down, you may be tempted to treat yourself to a series of restaurant outings or a shiny new smartphone. Don't do it; a few casual purchases can put you right back where you started, especially if something unexpected happens. Keep the end goal at the forefront of your mind––rewards that cost little or nothing are much better, like seeing a movie at a friend's house or making your favorite rich chocolate dessert and eating it all!
- Keep the goal in mind. Remember what you're trying to do—get out of credit card debt. Just like smokers almost never quit by cutting back, you probably won't get out of debt if you keep adding to it by using your cards all the time. You want to try to minimize your use of cards or stop using your cards altogether.
- Freeze them in a block of ice if you need to. Freezing a sealed bag of water with the cards inside is a fun and mess-free way of doing this. That way, your card will be there if you need it, but you'll have to wait for the ice to thaw, giving you hours to decide whether you really need it.
- Get a lock box. Put your cards in a lock box and put the lock box somewhere out of the way. Either give the key to someone else or put the key at another location, like your desk drawer at work, so that when you need to use the credit card, you will have to think long and hard about doing it.
- As a last resort, take your cards and cut them in to pieces with scissors to make sure you won't use them again.
- Use a debt calculator to help you pay off your credit and to keep track of your budget.
- Consider seeing a credit counselor. A credit counselor can analyze your finances and help you come up with a workable budget and debt repayment plan.
- When making any purchase stop and ask yourself these key questions: "Do I really need to buy this?" and "Is there any way I can do this cheaper?" It's worth keeping these points in mind at all time when looking to purchase things; the few coins or dollars you save can make a huge difference.
[Edit]Warnings - Beware of debt consolidation companies and credit counseling companies who do not provide any service other than debt consolidation. If you are considering entering into a debt consolidation plan, you may want to see a bankruptcy attorney first. He or she can analyze your debt and determine if debt consolidation is a good choice for you. An attorney can also review the debt consolidation contract and make sure that it is a legitimate company.
- Credit is not the tool you think it is. Remember that credit card companies are in the business of making money. Adopting a "Cash is king" policy will go a long way in stopping your dependency on credit.
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| How to Identify a Chow Chow Posted: 26 Oct 2020 05:00 PM PDT A non-sporting breed from ancient China, the Chow Chow is possibly one of the world's oldest dog breeds.[1] Chow Chows, or Chows for short, have several distinctive physical traits and a unique temperament that make them stand out.[2] By being aware of these key traits, you can get a better idea of whether a dog is a Chow Chow. [Edit]Checking the Body Structure - See how large the dog is. Chow Chows are not small dogs. They are tall and can weigh between .[3]
- Check the dog's tail. Chows have high-set tails. Their tails are carried closely to their backs.[4]
- Spot small ears. Sometimes hard to find, the ears of a Chow Chow are small and triangular.[5] They stand erect, slightly tilted, and are firm at the base and slightly rounded at the tip.[6]
- Inspect the eyes of the dog. Chows have dark brown eyes. Their eyes, placed wide apart, are deep set and resemble the shape of almonds.[7]
- Look for a blue tongue.[8] Perhaps one of the Chow's most identifiable traits is a blue or purple tongue. If you see the dog's short, broad muzzle[9] as it opens its mouth, see if it has a blue tongue.
- Notice the dog's build. Chow Chows have strongly musculed bodies. They are described as short, broad, and compact.[10] They have a stilted, stiff-legged gait.[11]
[Edit]Noticing the Coat - Check the dog's coat color. Chow Chows have five coat colors: red, black, blue, cinnamon, and cream, all of which are equally accepted by the AKC.[12] Red and cream coats can range from light to dark.
- Look at the length of the coat. There are two types of coats seen in Chows: rough and smooth. Rough Chow Chows are frequently seen in dog shows, and they have long fur that makes a ruff around their heads. They also have feathered tails.[13] Smooth Chows have less of a ruff and feathering.[14]
- Assess how the coat feels. Chow Chows have double-coats. Their outer coats are dense, straight, and coarse, while their undercoats are soft, thick, and wooly.[15]
[Edit]Identifying Temperament - Recognize a cat-like personality. Chow Chows have interesting personalities in that they somewhat act like cats. They are aloof and typically only make close bonds with their owner rather than others.[16]
- Notice independence. Chows do things on their own. They can make good watchdogs or guard dogs because their independent personalities lead to them making their own decisions.[17]
- Check for aggression. Around others, Chows can show signs of aggression. They don't easily allow others into their home and may bite or growl.[18] They shouldn't be around cats or small animals due to their hunting instincts and may be aggressive around other dogs.[19]
- See if the dog is calm. Chows have a calm and quiet disposition. They are not very destructive and usually don't act entirely aggressive unless provoked.[20]
- Look for loyalty. Chows may have some negative traits, but if it's just them and their owner, they can become very loyal. Despite being independent and stubborn, they have the potential to show loyalty to one person close to them.[21]
- If you're trying to figure out the breed of your dog, consider using a DNA test, as this will confirm their breed.
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| How to Cook Without a Recipe Posted: 26 Oct 2020 09:00 AM PDT Recipes are a great guide for people learning to cook, but you don't have to rely on them if you have good kitchen skills. Practice making a few recipes until you've perfected them. Then, play around with small changes and substitutions. You'll learn how long it takes to make a dish, what seasonings you enjoy using, and how to make a meal out of leftovers. Over time, you won't need the recipe to create a perfectly original dish. [Edit]Learning the Basics - Choose a few simple recipes to master. The more you practice a recipe or cuisine, the easier it will be to cook it from memory or make your own changes. Look through cookbooks, your family's recipe box, or at food blogs to find recipes that you'd like to try. Then, make the dish regularly so it always turns out the same way.[1]
- You might want to focus on a certain cuisine or type of food, such as pizza, pasta, or soup.
- Cook with experienced friends and family. If cooking doesn't come easily to you, you might learn better by watching others cook. Although there are lots of cooking shows and food channels, find someone you know who's a good cook and ask to make something with them.
- Cooking with someone will give you hands-on experience and you'll be able to ask questions as you cook. You'll also be able to taste the finished product!
- Look for opportunities to experiment with cooking instead of baking. It's a little easier to cook without a recipe because cooking methods, roasting, boiling, or grilling for instance, don't have to be exact. Try to think of baking like chemistry class and realize that you can't simply leave out or eyeball important ingredients.[2]
- If you'd like to bake without a recipe, it's important to tweak something that you already know how to make really well. For example, make your favorite blueberry muffins and add cinnamon or swap raspberries for the blueberries. Avoid big changes, like leaving out the eggs or dairy.
- Stock your fridge and pantry with staples. Pay attention to ingredients that you buy often and cook with every week. Try to keep these in your fridge or pantry at all times so you can always reach for a familiar ingredient to add to your meal.[3]
- For example, you might always keep pasta, tuna, beans, or marinara sauce in the pantry. Having these staples on hand would allow you to throw together a casserole, pizza, or soup.
- Challenge yourself to cook more in order to improve. Frequent practice is the best way to learn cooking, with or without a recipe. Consider where you're already at with your baking skills and set a goal of cooking more or skill building. For example, you might challenge yourself to:[4]
- Improve your knife skills
- Cook 5 days of the week
- Cook a meal from a new cuisine
- Take a cooking class if you need more guidance. If you're still struggling to feel comfortable with cooking, check local community centers or cooking supply stores to see if they offer cooking classes. They may do classes on a certain style of food, such as baking bread, making pasta, or baking desserts.[5]
[Edit]Building Your Confidence - Recognize when food is finished cooking. If you don't have a recipe to tell you how long to cook something for, you need to know signs that the food is done, especially when cooking meat or seafood. To tell if meat is as cooked as you like, rely on an instant-read meat thermometer. If you're baking cake, muffins, or quick bread, you'll usually want to insert a toothpick to see if it comes out clean.[6]
- The more you cook, the better you'll be at gauging how long something takes to cook. For example, if you're stir-frying vegetables, you'll know to add carrots before onions since they take longer to cook.
- Taste your food frequently and trust your senses. Don't wait until you're ready to serve a meal before you taste it. As long as the food isn't raw, you should be sampling it as you cook so you can adjust the seasonings. Learn to trust your instinct. For example, if the dish tastes like it needs brighter flavor, add a squeeze or lemon or freshly chopped herbs.[7]
- Pay attention to how things smell as you cook. Your sense of smell can tell you if you've added enough spices, if the food smells appetizing, or if something is burning!
- Experiment with a dish before serving it to others. You'll put unnecessary pressure on yourself if you try to whip up something that you've never made before to serve to guests. Instead, practice cooking without a recipe when there's little stress or pressure. You'll enjoy yourself more and might be bolder since there's no fear of making mistakes.
- It's not a bad idea to have a backup plan, even if you're just cooking dinner for yourself. For example, have supplies in the fridge for making a quick sandwich if cooking doesn't turn out as you hoped.
- Make substitutions to dishes you know how to make. Once you've gotten really comfortable with making a particular dish, experiment by changing a few ingredients. For example, if your pasta calls for bacon and asparagus, try making it with pancetta and snap peas.[8]
- Pizza is a great meal to cook without a recipe. As long as you can roll out the dough, you can try different sauces or toppings.
- Practice seasoning a dish. You may be used to seasoning food with salt, but there are a lot of ways to adjust the flavor of food. In addition to salt, you might want to add more spices or fresh herbs according to your preferences. To really take your cooking to the next level, add a few drops of an acidic ingredient, such as lemon juice, vinegar, wine, or hot sauce.[9]
- To add richness to the meal, stir in a little butter or heavy cream.
- If the meal tastes a little boring or flat, add depth of flavor by stirring in some miso, tomato paste, or Worcestershire sauce.
- Memorize basic ratios for the foods you cook often. You don't need recipes for foods that rely on simple ratios, such as rice, quinoa, bulgur, and other grains. Find a ratio that creates food with a texture you like and commit it to memory. Then, you can easily make a pot of couscous without even thinking about it.
- Use of water for every 1 cup (180 g) of rice as a starting ratio. Then, adjust the ratio to get a texture you like.
[Edit]Becoming a Great Cook - Take notes about what works. Not every dish you create from scratch will be a hit, but you're sure to cook something that you want to make again. Don't wait too long before you write down what you made. This will help you replicate the dish until you can commit it to memory.[10]
- You should also make notes of what didn't work and possible things to try for next time. For example, you could write, "Don't substitute white chocolate for dark chocolate. Try semisweet instead."
- Give yourself enough time to cook. If you don't have a recipe to go off of, you should have a vague understanding of how long it will take to make certain dishes so you don't feel stressed. Keep in mind that meals like pasta, pizza, or stir-fries will come together faster than large cuts of meat, such as roasts.
- Use leftovers as the basis for a new meal. This is a great way to reduce food waste and come up with a new meal without a recipe. Take a look through the fridge and pantry to see what food you have and try to come up with a meal that uses several of the ingredients.[11]
- For example, if you have leftover roasted vegetables and some soft cheese, toss them with cooked noodles to make a casserole. You could also use them as toppings for a quick pizza or mix them into a simple omelette.
- Use your favorite recipes as templates for new dishes. You don't need to start from scratch every time you cook without a recipe. Instead, find recipes you enjoy making and use them as a guide to make new meals.
- For example, if you have a great curry recipe, try substituting the protein or swapping out the vegetables for an entirely new curry.
- Cook within flavor families. Look at the ingredients you have on hand and think about which go well together. Then, try to craft a meal around those flavors. For example, if you're making a simple bean soup, you could use black beans, diced tomatoes, chili powder, garlic, and onion to make a Southwestern-flavored soup. Or you could use different flavors, such as white beans with garlic, thyme, chicken stock, and rosemary.
- You might find that you're already comfortable cooking a certain cuisine. Think about the ingredients and flavors that are frequently used and try to make them into new dishes.
- Relax and enjoy making food. Don't be afraid to make mistakes when you cook and try to cook as often as you can. Working in the kitchen every day will make you feel more capable and confident. Practice really will make it easier to cook meals without a recipe.[12]
- Set yourself a goal of cooking 1 meal a week without a recipe. As you become more confident, you can make more original meals throughout the week.
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