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Understand your debt

Debt is something, usually money, that is owed.
People get into debt for several reasons. To pay for school, buy cars, houses,clothing, pay for unexpected events, pay bills, go on vacations, or to pay credit cards. Whatever the reason for getting into debt, in order to effectively manage debt, there has to be a plan.

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Debt is something, usually money, that is owed.
People get into debt for several reasons. To pay for school, buy cars, houses,clothing, pay for unexpected events, pay bills, go on vacations, or to pay credit cards. Whatever the reason for getting into debt, in order to effectively manage debt, there has to be a plan. The first step is identifying what is owed. Find out every detail of your existing debt. Information about your debt can usually be gotten from statement balances, loan documents or by pulling a free credit report from a federally approved site such as www.annualcreditreport.com

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Write down the information from the research.

  1. How much is owed

  2. Who it is owed to

  3. What the minimum payments are

  4. When the minimum payments are due

  5. What the interest rates are on the debt

  6. How much has been paid on the debt

  7. What the term of the loan is

    If you want to adequately manage your debt, a good starting place would be find out what you need to manage.

    Next, you need to develop and commit to a plan.

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How to stop spending: 8 ways to save money

With the advent of online shopping, all it takes is a click of the mouse or a swipe of a finger and your purchase is on the way. Many shopping sites are making it very easy to save your credit card information and are using adverts to make their products harder to resist.

It is very tempting to spend when you are trying to work on your financial goals. With the advent of online shopping, all it takes is a click of the mouse or a swipe of a finger and your purchase is on the way. Many shopping sites are making it very easy to save your credit card information and are using adverts to make their products harder to resist.

The good news is, there are things you can do to remove the temptation and stay focused on your goal.

  1. Make a budget before the month ends and before you receive your income and make sure you stick to it.

  2. Cancel subscriptions you are not using. The cable that you barely watch, or the gym you have been planning to go to are all recurring expenses that steal your income.

  3. Unsubscribe from newsletters and emails.Those deals that are delivered in your email are a trigger for you to spend. So why not remove the trigger. If you do not know there is a deal, you will not go looking to buy. A good app to use to unsubscribe is unroll.me app

  4. Use coupons, discount codes and cash back apps to shop. Make sure you are shopping for things that are on your budget. Honey will give you coupons and compare other sites for cheaper prices for your purchases. Another site, Rakuten gives you cash back on purchases you make.

  5. Use cash. When you use cash, you feel the weight of your spending. Remove your credit and debit card information that is saved online. When you have to input that information every time, it gives you a few extra seconds to rethink your decision.

  6. Use a shopping list when you go out grocery shopping

  7. Negotiate your bills with service providers.Most service providers have loyalty programs for longterm customers or discount programs to keep customers. So before you commit to your next billing cycle, make sure you are asking for a deal. What is the worse that can happen?

  8. Plan meals. Planning meals helps you with your grocery shopping and also reduces impulsive shopping. The random trips to the fast food restaurants because you cannot figure out what to cook is $30 extra dollars you have saved. Plus, you can get the family involved and make it a fun, family bonding activity.

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