by Susan Paige
If you’re not very financially savvy when it comes to managing your money, you are not alone. If you have a lot of debt that’s accumulated over the years, and you’re not sure how to handle it, fear not!
There are ways to manage your money without throwing in the towel and filing for bankruptcy. Learning how to manage your debt can be easy with the right tools and mindset! Financial tools can be easy to obtain, such as gaining funding with title loans. Other financial tools may require time and care to obtain.
1. Outline Your Budget Plan
Likely one of the biggest reasons for financial unease is bad spending habits. One of the easiest ways to handle your impulsive spending is to create a budget plan, and see where your weaknesses are.
It is impossible to determine a budget plan without an accurate representation of your income every month. After your monthly income is determined, starting to budget can be easy. Take your monthly income after tax, and subtract your expenses.
· Define Your Fixed Expenses
Fixed expenses are monthly expenses that do not change month to month. These items can include mortgage payments, car payments, and utilities. Preferably, your fixed expenses will also include dedicating a percentage of your income into your savings account.
· Define Your Variable Expenses
Variable expenses are expenses that do change month to month. These items are usually expenses like groceries, entertainment, eating out, and gas. These are usually the items that can be cut back when first trying to create a better budget plan.
2. Track Your Budget
After separating your expenses into categories, they can easily be tracked through a budget plan. One way to budget accurately is to create a spreadsheet to map your expenses and determine what category they would figure into.
What can also be helpful is to establish a spending limit for variable expenses. If you find yourself with an unrealistic or overly strict budget plan, tracking your spending can help identify where your spending is unreasonable. Budgeting establishes healthy spending habits, as it keeps you accountable! Your outgoing expenses per month should match or be lower than your monthly income.
3. Decide What Debts to Pay First
One of the hardest parts of debt management include choosing which debt to tackle first. Once you have created your monthly budget, start by managing your debt and prioritizing your loan payments. You should be making at least the minimum payment on your debts but occasionally try and dedicate more than the minimum amount. This can greatly help pay down those debts in the long run and avoid high interest.
4. Pay Your Bills on Time Every Time
Continuously paying your bills on time is a large contributing factor to helping improve your credit score over time. Managing your debt responsibly means being responsible with your payments! Make sure to enroll in auto-debit or keep close track of when you need to pay your bills.
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