Tips for Good Money Management That Will Help You Avoid Debt Disaster

Oct. 16, 2012 - PRLog -- 1.   Pay your bills on time – This is the obvious one, but paying your bills on time is a big deal, it helps eliminate late fees.  Organize your bills by the due dates and setup calendar reminders a few days in advance to remind you of the bills that are due so you won’t forget to pay them.
2.   Create a Monthly Budget – Organize all of your monthly expenses so you know what you have going out each month this will help you know what you can spend each month.  Knowing what you have to spend on bills each month and what you have for income each month is a huge factor in turning your financial life around.  It will also show you where you are over spending on items that might not be necessary, like eating out every day.
3.   Pay more than the minimum on your credit cards – You might not be able to do this if you have a lot of credit cards that have high monthly payments, but start with one.  Take the one with the highest interest rate; pay more than the monthly minimum on that one credit card each month.  Once that card is paid off, tackle the next highest interest rate credit card.
4.   Pick 2 days out of the month and pay your bills then – If you get paid every 2 weeks, the 1st and the 15th for example, pick 2 days after those pay periods and pay bills.  Organize your bills so bills due near the end of the month are paid from the pay period on the 15th and bills due before the 15th are paid from the check you got on the 1st.  Organizing your bills and creating the budget will drastically help you stay on top of your bills and ensure you don’t fall behind.  Also if you are a renter, and most of your due dates for your bills come due the same time as your rent, contact your creditors about changing the due date and explain the situation.  This will cause less stress for you in the long run.
5.   Save for Emergencies – They always happen at the worst of times.  Try and put money into a savings account that you won’t touch unless absolutely needed.  Whether you save three months, six months, or even one month worth of living expenses, save for emergencies. Otherwise, you’re living paycheck to paycheck, and there is nothing more liberating than realizing you can survive for some period of time without earned income.
6.   Prepare for periodic expenses: Car insurance, life insurance, Christmas and other gifts, car repairs and the like never come at a convenient time. So be prepared. You will see how good it feels when you set aside 1/6th of your semi-annual car insurance bill each month so that when it was due, you have the money to pay. It takes discipline to manage your money this way, but it is definitely worth the peace of mind at the end, instead of having to pay it all when it comes due.
7.   Have a goal – Goals are always good.  Write them down and working on achieving them.  But be realistic; don’t write a goal about being a millionaire in 6 months.  Start off with stick to my budget for 30 days, and then add to that for 60 days, 90 days etc.  Pay off my high interest rate Visa Card.  Start small so you can achieve success. Nothing worse than setting a goal that you can’t achieve, you are just setting yourself up for failure.


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