Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Finance 101: How To Stay Debt Free In Today's Economy

Having some level of debt is common in today's society. However, you don't have to let debt consume you. What are some things that you can do to stay out of debt and put your money to good use? Let's take a look at how you can live without a large credit card balance or expensive monthly payments:

Rent Instead of Buy


When you acquire something, you need to consider the total cost of ownership. While renting a house may appear to be more expensive than buying a house, you have to consider the additional utility costs as well as taxes and mortgage interest. Whether you are looking at homes, cars, home tools or more, renting could save a lot more money than buying.

Buy Used Instead of New


Buying items that are used can allow you to buy something nice without paying full retail for it. For example, buying a 2012 car in 2014 may be the better deal because it won't depreciate as much. When you buy clothes or shoes at a thrift shop, you can pay pennies on the dollar for the latest fashions. Most items won't give you any problems if they are gently used, but it will save your wallet a lot of extra money. 

Save Money Ahead of Time


Instead of financing 100 percent of the purchase price, try to save up as much as possible. Having equity in your asset makes it easier to sell it if you can no longer afford to make payments on it. 

Keep Your Credit In Good Standing


Those who have good credit will pay less in interest charges than those who have bad credit. Borrowing $100 at 10 percent interest means that you pay $110, while you would pay $130 at 30 percent interest. Over a larger scale, that savings adds up. 

Create a Budget That You Can Stick With


Make sure that you create a budget for your monthly and yearly spending. It will keep you within your means and ensure that you don't deplete your savings and rely on credit cards to pay bills. While you may want to be strict with your budget, it's important to still be realistic so you can meet your financial goals.

Resist the Urge to Upgrade


Driving your car for as long as possible after it is paid off enables you to avoid a car payment. Keeping your current TV allows you to save $500 or more that you can put in the bank or use for an emergency situation. If your items are still working, wait until you save more money to upgrade.

If you want to stay debt-free, you have to be willing to make some sacrifices to stay within your budget. If you feel overwhelmed with debt, it's important to talk to professionals who can help. Staying debt free is very possible, and following these tips will help get you started on having better control of your finances.

Informational credit to A C Waring & Associates Inc.






3 comments:

  1. Yes! Especially keeping a budget you can stick with. It's an endless, dangerous cycle when you say that it's okay to spend just a little more. "Just a little" becomes a lot if repeated!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Being in a debt trap has become a major issue in this country. When people have too much debt, everyone knows that they have to pay the money back. So, it's better to have a plan to get that money paid back and work on that from the day when one lends the money. It is important to note that it is your responsibility to set up a program to repay the money that you borrowed. If you’re having trouble, remember to find cash advance service here. You can always resort to payday loan to solve this kind of problem.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Being in a debt trap has become a major issue in this country. When people have too much debt, everyone knows that they have to pay the money back. So, it's better to have a plan to get that money paid back and work on that from the day when one lends the money. It is important to note that it is your responsibility to set up a program to repay the money that you borrowed. If you’re having trouble, remember to find cash advance service here. You can always resort to payday loan to solve this kind of problem.

    ReplyDelete


Join 1000's of People Following 50 Plus Finance
Real Time Web Analytics