How to get debt free

If you’re like a lot of people, the goal for the coming years is to be debt-free, or at least, on top of debt. I’m with you, if there’s one thing in life that hangs over me, it’s debt.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a mortgage or a couple of thousand in consumer debt, if it’s causing you to lose sleep, now is the time to start conquering it. A fresh start, a fresh approach. Onwards and upwards to a debt-free existence.

Here are some tips to get you on the way.

Know What You Owe

Want a good credit report? What better way than to pay off your debts more quickly than minimum, eliminate high interest credit cards and pay your bills on-time or early?

Sit down and start working out dates. This is the first step. When are your bills due? Write it down in your diary and put a coloured Post-It next to it so you don’t forget.

When are your repayments due, and what’s the minimum you can pay? Write down how much you owe in total, and keep a progress report.

Get Organised

Pay your bills on the same day every month. That way, you’ll never be incurring late fees or being threatened with any utility being turned off. Pay your bills with cash, not credit.

The last thing you need to be doing is paying off debt on one hand, and increasing it on the other. Then organise to pay off your debt on the same day of every month (or with a credit card, paying off a little every week). The routine makes it easier, and makes it unlikely you’ll forget and get yourself a nasty late fee.

Know What You Can Change

How can you start to pay back your debt faster? Is there an expense you can eliminate, or some extra income you can channel towards repayments? Start thinking about how you can get rid of chunks of your debt. Maybe start with eliminating credit card debt, or paying off your higher interest cards. Choose one debt you are going to aggressively attack. Once you’ve gotten control of that debt, move onto the next one.

The Bare Minimum


Paying the minimum on your credit card isn’t going to cut it. If you want to get on top of your debt, you need to be repaying over the minimum repayments. It doesn’t have to be an astronomical amount, just enough to get a handle on your debt within a sensible timeframe.

Once you start getting somewhere, you’ll start feeling in control and finding it easier to control your debt.

Budget

You need a budget if you are going to get on top of the beast. Work out expenses, and some savings. There will always be a couple of variables, so ensure that you’ve left some space for them. Then budget everything else into your debt repayments.

Rewrite your budget once a month to make sure it’s completely realistic and has taken account of all the changes in your income or expenditure. This is your decade. Make it a debt-free one, or at least, a decade that’ll make the decades after that much more pleasant.

source: bigpondmoney.com.au

Budget Revision May 2013

So the time has come once again for me to revise the budget. Every few months I take a look at my budget and see if any changes need to be made and I go ahead and tweak the budget if I need to. I was previously working on a year long rolling budget in Mint…although I don’t really know why since I have a rolling annual list in a Google docs spreadsheet anyway.

I found that the rolling budget had gotten messed up because of Mint’s tendency to classify some things in certain ways. I would have to go and update a few of the ‘rules’ I had in classification and it was really throwing me off.

I figured I would just go in and remove all the prior rolling amounts and just start them over since I needed to adjust the budget now. I have a new bill coming up in a few months and paying it would put me over my budget as it currently stands.




Even though I don’t need to begin paying it until July I decided to adjust the budget now and reduce things like food and household expenses now.That way I have two months to get used to the reduced spending on those two areas before I actually HAVE to spend less.

I also made a few other tweaks here and there and reduced a few categories by $10 or $20. The changes to the individual categories are not very high but the total does make a big difference to the total budget.

I am on a VERY strict budget because of school and we don’t get paid very much so I really cannot afford to splurge and get carried away because I do need to pay tuition!

Tuition payments for summer school are actually only a few days away and it will be a big drain to see that money come out of my account.

source: howisavemoney.net

How to Save on Your Halloween Costume

Halloween is just a few weeks away, and if you’re like me, you may still be scrambling to think about what your costume is going to be. But one thing I know for sure is I’m not going to bust my budget on the costume. Several years back, I spent way too much money on a pricey costume I bought online. It was a nice costume, but it was overpriced, and I will probably never use it again. Instead, I’ve vowed to plan ahead and get creative with my costumes, and be sure to shop at the places that will save me money. Here are affordable costumes and where to find them:






There are many costumes that don’t require any purchases whatsoever. There are two ways to find a costume. First, you can make a list of costume ideas you’d like to scour stores for. Or, you can have a blank canvas, and search your own home and affordable stores for inspiration for a costume.

Different Decade

It’s easy to mix and match pieces from your wardrobe to come up with an outfit that looks like it’s from another decade. A white undershirt, jeans, black sunglasses, and black leather jacket can easily pass for the 50’s, flared jeans and a tie-dye shirt works for the 70s, and through on bring neon shirts and leggings for the 80s.

Career

 Whether it’s in your own closet or something from a friend, uniforms from a doctor, police officer, nurse, construction worker, or fireman can be borrowed to wear as a practical costume.

Celebrity

You’d be surprised at how just styling your hair a different way, putting on specific makeup, or throwing on a certain outfit, could pass for a celebrity costume.

Things that require only an accessory

You can buy or make cat ears, and simply wear all black to go as a cat. Purchase a pair of wings or a halo, wear all white, and you’re an angel. A black dress only requires a witches hat, and you’re all set. A fedora hat can turn a men’s suit into a different era costume.

Place to find affordable costumes

Friends and Family

Why pay for a costume when you can get one for free? Ask your friends and family to borrow a costume or even another type of uniform or outfit they may have. You can also suggest and organize a costume swap amongst your friends, family, or neighbors and community. People can bring their old costumes from years back to switch for a new one.

Thrift Store

Even if you can’t find an actual Halloween costume, you’ll be able to use the eclectic items at a thrift store to put something unique together.

Craigslist

Many people in your area may be selling an old costume online. And it isn’t just after Halloween. Last year, I found there were several costumes for sale the weekend before Halloween since some people celebrate early.

Dollar Store

The dollar store is perfect for super affordable little accessories and pieces that can give you a fantastic costume.

Craft Store

The craft store is the perfect place to get creative with your costume. You can find unique items that can add a lot to your costume.

source: financialhighway.com