Think You Can’t Afford To Budget?

Often, people find themselves in financial trouble due to overspending. There are several things that can be done to get back on track and avoid future problems. One of the best ways to get rid of high interest credit card payments is to switch to balance transfer credit cards. These cards allow you to switch your entire balance from the high interest card to a much lower interest rate card.

Quite often, the credit card company will use balance transfer credit cards to entice people to transfer their balance from another card by offering 0% interest rates for the first few months. Just make sure that the card continues to have low interest rates when the initial 0% rate expires. It is always a good idea to read the fine print.

Watch Your Spending

Unnecessary expenses can usually be fairly easily eliminated, providing you are willing to give up items such as extra-large coffees at the trendy corner coffee shop. Take a look at your monthly budget and see where it may be possible to cut out items that are not really crucial to quality of life. It may be nice to eat out every day but is that really necessary? There are perfectly good meals that can be bought ready to put in the microwave if cooking is not your forte. This step alone can save hundreds of dollars a month. You never know when you may discover a knack in the kitchen and start to cook like a gourmet!

Can Your Clutter Turn to Money?

There are an increasing number of people that hold down more than one job to make ends meet. This may not be required, but there are things that can be done to find other sources of income. Many people have a vast amount of junk around the home that they never use.

Perfectly good items that are completely ignored can actually prove a cash cow. Websites, such as EBay, allow people to sell their used items to hordes of eager buyers. Take an inventory of the junk that is cluttering up your home and see if there is anything worth selling. This step not only cleans your home, but it can bring in hundreds of dollars to help with bill payments.

Attend To Those Bills

The most urgent bills should always be paid first. Bills with high interest charges should also always receive priority. If you need an extension on a bill payment, go ahead and ask for it. You may receive a reprieve and avoid accruing a bad credit score due to missed bill payments.

If you are having trouble with your rent, by all means, ask the landlord for an extension as well. If you have been a good tenant and do not make this a regular habit, there should be no problem for this request to be granted for a month or so. It is always possible to come up with creative ways to make payments and avoid missed or late payments. This will make a big difference to your credit score if you decide to get a mortgage or other loan.

 

5 Comments

    1. I have sooooo much stuff that I never even look at. I think it’s time to start clearing out my closet.

  1. You feel so much better after doing it too! When I did it I actually found a few things I’d been searching high and low for – they’d slipped out the back of a drawer 🙂

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