For the last few New Years, you’ve probably told yourself that one of your New Years Resolutions is to get serious about your spending problem. Every year, you stick with it for January and then fall back into old habits. We’re all guilty of this. However, if you want 2018 to be different, you have to really evaluate where the money is going and how you can get a better hold of debt settlement.
Deb Repair Tips
If you want debt repair to be a cornerstone platform for your 2018, here are some of the top ways to get serious about debt settlement this year:
1. Budget Time
No one wants to hear about budgets, but they exist for a very important reason. Budgets are the organizational structure that equalizes the money you have coming in with the money that is going out. No one can financially function without one – even billionaires have budgets. A monthly budget is a roadmap to financial stability. This financial plan will ensure you never add to a debt again, since you already know exactly what you can and can’t spend each month.
2. Slash Your Spending
Make a commitment to slash your usual spending this year. Consider 15% – it’s not overwhelming, but substantial in nature, still. Right now, only 37% of Americans have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency. Yes, although you can’t cut your mortgage or car payments, you can certainly cut how many drinks and meals you buy out at restaurants, as well as the unneeded décor you constantly buy for each and every holiday.
3. Credit Repair
Credit is a vital part of debt settlement, as higher credit ratings come with lower interest rates. Credit scores allow lenders to assess risk when deciding whether to work with you. A low credit score is likely to yield higher interest rates on fixed loans like mortgages and auto financing. If you have a bad credit score now, but repair it substantially during the year, be sure to call these lenders and achieve the interest rate you rightfully deserve.
4. Long-Term Thinking
One of the hardest things about money is that we want to think about it in the short-term. If we have a surplus one-month, we want to go out to the mall and totally blow it. However, we have to be thinking long-term, considering potential emergency costs, retirement, and disaster relief when we least expect it. If you get a bonus you were not expecting, don’t immediately blow it on a motorcycle. Save it instead, so you are safeguarded against future debts.
Debt Settlement in 2018
People typically want a quick answer for their debt settlement problems. The reality is that to settle your debt, you’re going to need patience and motivation to see it through, over a very long period. Once you have seen it through, you need to alter your spending habits so you never find yourself in that situation again.
Make a 2018 New Years spending commitment that will last to 2020.
