Debt management tips
Every day, you pick up the newspaper and read about more and more people who are out of work and out of a home. The stories are heartbreaking: Kids who are forced to sleep with five siblings in a crowded motel room because their parents simply couldn’t afford the payments on their home anymore and now they are now forced out onto the street and people who are struggling to hang on somehow. With the unemployment rate running at nearly 10% and the true unemployment rate (including those who gave up looking and fell off the rolls) is closing in on 20% (the best estimates put it around 18% or so), you are worried that you could be next. However there are things you can do about this. These basic debt management tips can be adopted by anyone, and will certainly make a difference!
- Pay cash. It sounds simple and it is. The reality is that when we pay with a credit card, we don’t really feel like the money has to be paid back. At least not right away. It’s in the future some time and so the pain is a little less. But if you need to pay for things in cash, then you will instantly start thinking twice and three times about a purchase because you feel the money coming out of your pocket right then and there.
- Make a Budget for yourself. In essence, what you want to do here is to walk around with a little pocket notepad and keep track of everything that you’re spending money on. You’ll be amazed at how fast your notebook will fill up. That candy bar that you thought was no big deal or the can of soft drink that you just had to have because you were “dying” will add up quickly. Once you see how much you’re spending and you know you need to write down every single expense, you will quickly think twice before spending the money. That said. ..
- Don’t overdo it. Yes, you need to be careful about what you spend money on and that is a great debt management tip. But if you start depriving yourself of everything, you’ll end up like someone who goes on one of those liquid diets. I was on one once; by the second day, I was so miserable that in desperation, I ended up eating a candy bar at work because I needed something. Instead. .
- Ration your treats. Allow yourself something special once in a while. There’s nothing wrong with saving up to go out to the movies once in a while, but when you’re going three times a week, that’s going to add up very quickly. Consider going once a month and thinking of it as a special time instead of just an everyday activity.
- Use generics and clip coupons. No one likes the idea of having the giant bottle of generic bleach in their laundry room instead of a name brand, but the reality is, it works just the same and costs less, helping you to manage your debt problem.