To get out of debt you need a budget. Many people think that budgeting is just a waste of time. But without a budget you have no idea where your money is going. A budget will help you stretch your money and track all your spending. Budgeting is a useful tool that should be used in your household every month. You will be surprised how much you spend on things you really don’t need and even more surprised how much you can save if you set up a budget you can live with.
Make a list of all your expenses and don’t leave anything out include everything. List expenses like rent or mortgage payment, utility bills, car payments, insurance payments, entertainment, car repairs, credit cards and everything else you can think of. Decide how much money you are left with at the end of each month to pay towards your debt. Are you charging your purchases instead of paying in cash or debit card? How often do you use your credit card on those insignificant purchases when you could have just as easily used cash or even your debit card? This raises your balances and costs you more money in interest. Use cash, check, or a debit card and save yourself some money. To get out of debt you need a budget you can live with.
Unsecured debt like credit cards with high interest rates are the first things you need to concentrate on and pay off. The ones with the smallest balance are the ones you want to work on first. The reason you want start with the small ones first is because cards with small balances are the easiest to pay off and it gives you a sense of accomplishment. When you start to see the balances go to zero it helps you stick to the budget. Once the small ones are done then you work on the big ones. To get out of debt you need a budget that you can save a little money for unforeseen expenses that happen from time to time.
The best budget in the world won’t work if you can’t stay on it because it is too Restrictive. To get out of debt you need a budget that will be easy to follow. Live on less money than you make, control your wants and make a budget you can live with. It all can be accomplished with a little discipline and the desire that you can get rid of debt in less time than you think. It’s a great feeling when you can live free of debt. You can do it, you just need to get started and the rest will be easy.