If you do not know where you are at how will you know what you need to do when it comes to your finances? Begin today to map out your life with money and your finances.
Make Finances Simple!If you are not sure how to budget your money and you are going from paycheck to paycheck guessing what bills to pay it is time to do something new!
Get a cheap notebook.
Write down all your income for each month.
(How much from your job, business, passive income, gifts and other.)
Add those up! That is your gross intake.
Now write down all your bills.
(Household bills, groceries, credit cards, loans, vehicles, insurances, medical expenses etc.)
Add those up! That is your outpour.
If the outpour is greater than the intake you will need to do something different!If there is extra intake ask yourself where does it go normally?
What will you do differently with any extra income? Make a bigger payment to pay off credit card? Create a savings? If you have a saving are you using it?
On a bigger scale you can hire a bookkeeper or accountant to do this for you to prevent feeling overwhelmed. You need to know where you are in order to get where you want to go. There are many ways to get there so allow others to support you.
Pay Off Credit Cards & Loans!
When paying off your debt you want to start with your smallest debt and work your way up. With your credit cards, store cards or loans begin making extra payments on your lowest loan. Keep paying at least the minimum on all debt as you make extra payments towards the smallest loan. Get that one paid off and then move to the next one. When you work towards getting one paid off you will have a sense of accomplishment and you will begin to feel like you are making strides towards success. Start basic and work your way up. This is called the debt snowball.
Here’s the short version:
Put your debts in order from lowest balance to highest balance.
Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month.
Pay the minimum payment on all debts except for the one with the lowest balance.
Throw every other penny at the debt with the lowest balance.
When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-lowest balance.
It still takes time to pay off your debts, but you can see results almost immediately.
Sometimes we have to go back to the basics in order to move forward.
Cut expenses!Look at your household expenses and start to look at ways to cut back. I am not implying to settle for less what I am saying is to be diligent and responsible with your money.
Eat out only for special occasions. This can cut out a big expense if going out every week to eat. Use grocery coupons when you shop.
Look at your house phone plan. Can you switch service providers and save money? (I went from a $200 a month phone bill to a $50 a month phone bill by bundling up services.)
Can you cut back on cell phone services or use? Texting is costing more these days.
Super premium, premium and regular gas. Does your vehicle require a specific kind of gas or can you cut back and save a little.
Can the thermostat go down 1 degree to save a little money?
Are you comfortable with the same insurance company and have not shopped for a better price with the same benefits? Sometimes you can go to your current company and find ways to cut your costs back.
Pay your bills on time to avoid late fees. (One year I paid over $1000 just in late fees.)
Look for ways to get more bang for your buck as you work your way out of debt.
Look For Ways to Improve Your Current Income!The more the money you bring in, the more you will have to handle your debt. Always look for opportunities for picking up tasks with higher commission, or over time pay or something that will result in a bonus. Many times an employer is looking for someone to pick up the slack somewhere. Take your job seriously and work productive everyday. This will pay off for you and help to pay off your debt.
Sometimes it is not easy to simply increase your current income at your job. If that's the case, look at means to create additional sources of income. Do you have a hobby that you can turn into a money making venture? Do you have skills that you can use to get some part time income? Do you have computer knowledge that you can use online? How about the network marketing/direct sales business you have been treating like a hobby?
By creating extra income you can get your bills paid off quicker, build a saving as a back up if your job has layoffs or cutbacks! Be in charge of your income!
Stay Busy!
An idle mind is a retailer's dream come true. When you are daydreaming and bored you have a tendency to think of fun things to do. Shopping at the mall and on the internet. You are likely to end up buying stuff you likely don’t need. If you hang out in front of the TV doing nothing, then the advertisers are bound to plant a seed for something that you wouldn’t have wanted otherwise. Like the blanket with sleeves! Throwing away money to keep yourself entertained when you could be using that time a lot more productively just won’t cut it if you are serious about getting out of debt. Entertain yourself with ideas to improve your business, make calls to prospects, spend quality time with family and honoring your commitment to paying off your debt will create greater rewards.
Change Your Attitude!
Like everything else in life, getting out of debt is heavily dependent on your attitude. Switch to a “Yes I Can” attitude. No longer give into the victim mentality or self-doubts of whether you can do it. Start attacking debt and don’t stop until it is all gone. One of the best ways to do this is to get an accountability buddy. Someone you share your getting out of debt goals with and have them connect with you on a regular basis to hold you accountable to what you are committed to. Your attitude must come from the mindset of success! Your quality of life style depends on it! Find another person who wants to eliminate debt and do it together! Sometimes you may have to pay someone to push you. In the long run you will end up with the biggest savings because the person you paid was committed to your success and could help drive your commitment!
Debt Testimonial:
"Kimberley was an integral part of me shifting into my greatness and choosing the best. This was a priceless event in my life and I would encourage anyone, no matter what place in life you are in, to jump in with her to move past the mountains in your life and make them easy anthills. I have success, and freedom now and I owe a lot of that success to my course and my awesome leader. I paid off $60,000 in 10 weeks and moved up a level in my Network Marketing business, including doubling my team and income." A.F.If you would like support in the area of cleaning up your debt connect with Be A Legacy.
http://www.bealegacy.com/ Go to our web site and sign up for our free newsletter. The March newsletter will focus on money and finances.
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