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You are here: Home / Archives for Susan Paige

Enjoying the Golden Years: Ways to Earn Post Retirement

July 9, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

When it comes to planning the enjoyment of the so-called golden years, it can be difficult sometimes to imagine no longer being able to earn or make a living. Even those who have saved a sufficient amount might not be able to sit around and maybe even feel a little restless, especially if they’re so used to being able to find a way to make money.

For others, it’s more a matter of urgency, as their retirement plan could have been compromised by unforeseen circumstances. There are thankfully many different ways in which you can still earn income even though you might technically be retired. It might seem strange how something like 1xbet (yes, gambling related) could help alleviate that worry; you’ll just have to keep reading to find out how.

A matter of family

It’s completely normal for parents to have spent a lot of their lives (and their fortunes) raising their children. Of course, it would be completely understandable to not want to place any burden on your children, you’d be surprised how willing they are to give back for all of the love and support you’ve given them throughout the years. When all is said and done, sons and daughters living their own lives are often more than happy to pay it forward.

Social Security

When it comes to figuring out one’s retirement finances, Social Security can often play a very big factor. However, it’s important to note that while Social Security is indeed able to finance retirement and play a part in the plan, it is by no means something that you can depend wholly on. It is at least a comfort knowing that Social Security can help take the edge off of difficult situations as an extra layer of financial support.

Selling one’s business or properties

When retirement finally comes, there are more than a few individuals who find themselves needing to pass the torch over to another as they step down. This often comes along with a few bonuses, such as the possibility of selling the business, or the properties involved with that business. The amount of income generated from this is often enough to support a great deal of the retirement plan.

Recreational gambling

While this might be frowned upon by individuals as a way to generate income, you’d be surprised at just how much it can help if done in moderation. When you’re playing more for fun than anything else, you’ll find yourself winning more than your fair share, which could end up supporting your retirement.

To conclude, there are indeed plenty of ways one can generate income, even after retirement. While each and every one of these is a good way to do so, take note of the fact that these are all pieces of a whole. If you want to be able to generate income and be comfortable through your retirement, it would be a good idea to utilise several methods at once.

 

Image: Pixabay.com

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Effective and Low-Stress Ways to Earn Extra Cash

July 9, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Even if you happen to be earning a substantial amount where you work, sometimes it just doesn’t cut it when life gets in the way. There are often so many things to pay for, so many unexpected events (and luxuries) that what you are normally able to financially provide just isn’t enough. Thankfully, there are many ways out there to earn some extra money on the side – with some being relatively stress-free.

It’s human to want to earn more than what your wages might entail, but it might be difficult because you could end up overdoing it. This is why the methods below are some of the easier ways to earn extra on the side; so you aren’t risking your health for the cash. You might even be tempted to try the casino bonus from cashmio after reading this article!

Make a list of all the things you want to sell and check online for prices

When it comes to earning extra on the side, selling things that you no longer use around your home could prove to be quite lucrative! It doesn’t take much either – all you have to do is create a list of all the things you might want to sell. You don’t have to do it in one night, instead take it slow day by day if you’d like to.

Once you’ve created a list of all the things you have, check online to see the average prices of these second-hand items. You might be surprised at what you find out! If you happen to enjoy gaming and have a lot of games you no longer play, consider selling them and putting them back in circulation for a quick buck!

Have a talent for the arts? Take up commissions!

It’s a common situation to have a job that has nothing to do with your passion. If this passion has to do at all with the arts, then perhaps you can find a way to make money out of your talents! For example, if you’re skilled at art, show it to the world and take commissions. It might take some doing, but if someone takes a liking to your work they might be willing to pay quite a bit.

Take advantage of recreational gaming

It might seem a little counterproductive, gambling in order to earn some extra money on the side. However, this is why you should start very small. If you practice and learn your way around a specific game online, you might eventually feel confident enough to give it a real try. Remember, do this in moderation to make the most out of online casinos!

To conclude, there are plenty of ways in which you can earn money on the side without potentially working yourself to death for it. If you have a specific talent, have items around the house you’d like to sell or want to test your hand at an online casino, the opportunity to earn is there!

Image: Pixabay.com

Filed Under: Personal Finance

10 Ways to Decorate Your Home on a Budget

June 24, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

People often think that decorating their home will cost a fortune, but it is not always true. All you need is a creative mind and a little bit of patience and you can bring your home new life.

Follow these tips so you can decorate your home without messing up your budget.

Colour your walls

This is probably the easiest way to bring life to your old home. You can simply buy red, yellow and blue colours. Mix them and you now have 6 colours! You can also bring in a bit of white paint for a softer shade. Paint each room with a different colour and see how good they look at the end of the day.

Look for ongoing garage sales

Garage sales are the most convenient place to look for cheap home decorations and furniture. You may have a hard time looking for something that appeals to you, so you better be patient.

Rearrange your furniture

Go around the house. Check what can be thrown out or better yet taken to a garage sale. Once you have everything sorted out, rearrange it. You may want to start in the bedroom since that is the easiest room to rearrange.

Add mirrors

Mirrors make a room look bigger than it is. Also, they add a little touch of creativity especially if they come in different shapes and sizes.

Label canisters

If you have plain canisters for your sugar, flour etc, you may want to label them with an art piece. You can use old magazines and cut out the letters from them. Afterwards, cover them with a clear glue to ensure that the letters won’t fade or be removed.

Use your empty jars

Your empty jars along with the previous year’s Christmas lights will look good as a decoration both indoors and outdoors. You can hang them outside or simply let them sit on your bedside table.

Display your colourful empty bottles

These bottles can serve as flower vases. Pick bottles that are coloured and they will instantly give you a stained-glass effect.

Paint your door

For a cost-efficient exterior upgrade, colour your front door with an unusual shade. You might want to make sure that your door is paintable, like a composite door. If you don’t have one, check it out at Truedor as they offer affordable, stylish and durable composite doors that are perfect for you and your home.

Do it yourself artwork

Check your old magazines or calendars and strip them of pretty and colourful images. Frame and hang them and you will have an exceptional work of art in seconds.

Photo-filled wall

If you have been travelling for the past few months or years, you may want to use the photos you have taken and build a collage. Display them in your bedroom or your work area for a fresh effect.

Decorating your house doesn’t have to be expensive. You just have to learn how to find the good stuff and start using it as art pieces. Be creative!

Image: Pixabay.com

 

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Looking to Start Investing? Follow These Tips…

June 19, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

 Photo by 401(K) 2012 // CC BY-SA 2.0

You don’t have to be a millionaire to start investing. In fact, most funds will accept monthly payments from as little as $50 or lump sums of $500. What prevents most people from investing is that it seems to be daunting. But with a little education about your options, you can start putting away money and seeing returns. Follow these tips to get started. 

Identify Your Goals, Risk Tolerance and Timeframe

Before you even think about what to invest in, it’s important to understand your own motivations and financial goals. What is the purpose of your investment? Do you simply want to grow your money, or are you looking for income?  Are you interested in socially responsible investing? Is there a set amount you want to reach, perhaps for a specific purpose like retirement, or do you want to increase your wealth exponentially?

You should also consider your own risk tolerance level. Can you handle volatile markets and huge swings in your savings, or would you rather see slow and steady returns? All of these factors will affect your overall approach to investment.

Timeframe is also a crucial consideration. You shouldn’t really be investing for short-term gains. Your investment could fall in value before it rises, so if you need your money back in less than 5 years, it’s probably best to stick to cash savings. Investing is a long-term game, and it’s better to be willing to hold your investments for at least 5 – 10 years or more to see decent returns. 

Understanding Your Options

Now that you have thought a little about what you want out of your investments, it’s time to consider your options, of which there are many. Cash savings offer very low returns at the moment, with bank account ISAs offering only 1% average. Stocks and shares ISAs offer better returns.

Fixed rate investments, such as corporate and government bonds, are very low risk and pay steady, reliable returns over time. They are kind of like a loan to the company, and they typically have low returns, although they are a safe option.

Shares give you a stake in the company. The value of the shares usually rises and falls depending on the performance of the company and other factors that can affect their value. The idea here is to research companies and invest in shares and stocks that are likely to grow in the long term.

Then there are always hard assets to invest in, such as gold and real estate. The returns depend on the investment. Gold tends to hold its value quite well, and real estate can be very lucrative if home values rise or if you rent the property out.

How Much Can You Invest?

It’s not really wise to invest money that you can’t afford to lose, or to borrow money to fund your investments. It’s less complicated if you stick to what you can afford and use your own money to gain more money. 

To borrow a phrase from the poker community, to invest successfully in the long, run you need proper “bankroll management”. Bankroll management dictates that you have a separate fund for investing and that you only use a certain percentage of the fund for each investment. It prevents you from going bust all in one go and leads to improved diversification. 

Diversify Your Portfolio

There’s nothing more dangerous for your investment lifespan than putting all of your eggs in one basket. It’s well-known that investors should diversify their portfolio. Overall, it’s better not to rely on the success of a single investment.

If you invest in stocks and shares, go with a selection of companies based on your research. If you choose to take a cautious approach to investment, your portfolio shouldn’t have too many equities (investments in shares). As a beginner, one way to reduce risk is to invest in collective investment funds, which make the decisions for you. Find one that meets your financial goals and risk tolerance.

Investing doesn’t have to be scary. You can start small and choose investments that suit your bankroll and level of risk. As long as you don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose, you won’t make any disastrous mistakes—and if done wisely, investing is more profitable than cash saving.

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Concrete Repair Contractor Montreal: How To Get The Most Money Possible For Your Home

June 7, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Very few of us will leave our homes in the same condition they were in when we initially purchased them. Even if we have taken care of our properties, life happens and sometimes our home experiences damage. Selling your home can be an extremely stressful experience. The whole process can be quite time-consuming and taxing. To compound this stress, you often have to deal with the worry that you won’t receive as much money as you possibly could for the sale of your property. There are things you can do to raise the selling price of your home. Here’s how to get the most money possible on the sale of your property, without having to spend a fortune.

Figure Out What the Most Glaring Issues Are

A home might have a myriad of defects, but some issues are larger than others. While the paint color in your kitchen might be a bit dated, it’s not going to stand out as glaringly as a severely damaged driveway. In this situation, it might be advisable not to worry about correcting the paint color and instead of contacting a Montreal concrete repair contractor. It’s essential that you fix the most glaring issues and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Increase Your Home’s Curb Appeal

We might always be told that “it’s what’s inside that counts.” While this might be true, good curb appeal can make or break a home sale. Buyers aren’t going to bother with a house that’s ugly on the outside, even if the interior is absolutely beautiful. Home buyers definitely judge a book by its cover and it’s important that you’re aware of this. Do everything in your power to make your house more attractive from the outside if you want to attract buyers.

Ensure That Your Photos Are Fantastic

In the old days, most home shopping was done in-person. While it’s true that buyers still visit homes that they’re potentially interested in purchasing, a lot of decision-making is done online based on photographs of different homes for sale. A fantastic property can often be overlooked because the photos on the house’s listing are subpar. Ensure that your photos are of the utmost quality and capture your home in its best light. This might mean moving furniture around or hiring a professional photographer. Do whatever you need to do to get the best shots of your home.

Consider Renting

If you’ve had your home on the market for quite some time and you’re not receiving any offers that you consider to be reasonable, it might be time to consider becoming a landlord and renting the property. While being a landlord can certainly be a challenge, it’s better to make a consistent income on your property than it is to take an extremely low offer that won’t help you to recoup your initial investment. After renting your home for a year, you can use the money you’ve earned to make improvements to the property and then attempt to sell it again.

Know When It’s Time to Find A New Real Estate Agent

There are plenty of great real estate agents out there, but there are also a lot of bad ones. Sometimes, a home won’t sell necessarily due to the home itself, but rather due to a subpar real estate agent who isn’t putting in the work needed to sell the home for the maximum profit possible. If you think that you have a gem on your hands but you’re not receiving any good offers, it might be time to find a different real estate agent.

Understand If You’re Asking for An Impossible Amount

Everyone thinks that their home is worth a nice chunk of change. However, sometimes homeowners simply aren’t being realistic about how much their property is worth. If you’re asking for an unreasonable amount of money for your home, all of the staging and strategizing in the world won’t get you to that offer. You want to get what your home is worth, but that’s simply not going to happen if you’re asking for too much money. Know when it’s time to back down and lower your asking price.

Selling your home can be stressful, especially in a competitive real estate market. However, if you follow these tips, you can get what your property is truly worth.

 

 

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Adulting 101: 5 Ways to Manage Your Money Like an Adult

June 4, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Being in your 20s is a wild ride. For one, you’re too old to still be dependent on your parents, but also too young to face the pressures and figure everything out. But the pressures of adulting demand that you figure it all out on your own. Then you reach your late 20s, and you’re expected to have mastered it all.

But what is all this adulting about anyway?

Well for one, it’s building that discipline needed to focus on the most important tasks at hand. It’s realizing that, you only really need to do things one at a time. But of course, the pressures and surge of hormones in our youth lead us to succumb to all kinds of distractions and it all gets tangled up into the blackhole of existential crisis.

So, in line with being focused and disregarding all the nonsense, I present to you the way you can manage your budget like an adult. If you’re still in your early 20s, well, awesome. Enjoy all the fun, confusion, and take all the lessons you can get. But, as tita as this may sound, it’s best that you learn all these values now, so you can get ahead of everyone in ‘adulting’. You’ll surely thank yourself later.

Consolidate All Your Monthly Bills

How much are you really paying every month? This should be your top priority, and not your FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) — on parties, scenes, and events. There’s no better feeling than the peace of mind that comes with being able to pay your bills on time. And with this practice comes the fulfilment of being financially independent, too.

If you’re still short on your monthly income and have a credit card, you’re lucky to have something to help you out on those Petsa de Peligro days. But learn to use your credit card wisely so you don’t get caught up in debt. Another solution for this is to look for side job opportunities on the internet, so you get to earn more money. Maybe even in US dollars, too, as most freelance contractors from the likes of Upwork are from the USA.

Setting Both Long and Short-Term Savings Goal

You’ll often hear this at job interviews. What are your goals five, ten years from now? And the right answer should be to see yourself climbing the corporate ladder in that company, to let them know you’re not going anywhere. That thought can change, sure, but the question is still important. What is all this hard work for without a goal, right?

Entry-level salaried employees should never set their goals merely based in their income.

Set bigger, realistic goals and a specific timeline. Do you want to own a house before you’re 30? That’s possible. Set bigger goals and your paycheck will follow. This is because you’ll program your mind to work double to get to that goal.

Start Investing

Entrepreneurs and financial advisers will have you know, letting loads of money sit idly in your bank would be a waste. If you have enough money saved up in the bank, find the right investment venture for you.

Invest in something you’re interested in, e.g. Stock Trading, or maybe a business you can start, with partners or by yourself. You can even opt for a personal loan to get that jumpstart if you already have a solid business plan.

Find ways to earn extra income

Let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be cool if you just kept living on a tight budget. If you’re the spaghetti head type who can’t be bothered to set a budget, then grow your money instead. If you have a skill you can monetize — web design, graphic design, writing, or being a consultant in your field of expertise, you get it — make money out of it.

Your 20s is about laying a solid foundation for your future. There will be a lot of distractions. But you wouldn’t want to get too caught up in those that you forget about your own well-being and future.

 

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Discover The very best Ones And Save

June 1, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Did you look for the finest payday lender when making use of for a quick cash advance? Do you even know what to look for? Many people will apply with the primary firm they discover and then proceed to make use of the identical company for repeat loans. The typical brief-time period mortgage consumer will take out 5-8 loans all year long. If the direct lender doesn’t supply one of the best rates, the interest fees will make paying off the loan that rather more expensive. Unlike banks and credit score unions that fluctuate their curiosity rates depending on a person’s credit rating, the payday mortgage lender has one set charge for all customers. There isn’t a credit score test, so even a credit challenged applicant has an opportunity to obtain a short-term loan. The high curiosity charge is often welcomed when emergency cash takes precedence. Applicants in a hurry don’t usually think about finding a better price for the mortgage, they are simply comfortable that they discovered one.

In just some quick weeks the borrower must provide you with the cash to repay the mortgage plus charges. If not, the loan is extended and more fees might be due in just one other few weeks. If this identical applicant shopped for a lender with higher charges, there won’t be as a lot to pay back. The financial savings is critical especially if the loan is rolled over for an additional time period. If you may discover a lender that expenses less than 25%, you might be saving much more and after some time you may catch yourself that you are thinking like a billionaire because you are managing your debts like a pro! For these borrowers who repeat loans throughout the year, the money saved by finding a better payday mortgage curiosity charge is a big quantity. It may doable even counteract in opposition to their need for a fast money advance and keep them from taking out so many in the course of the 12 months. Supporting your own emergency costs is probably the most value environment-friendly method to handle your expenses. If the interest is so expensive, how do these loans assist?

If the applicant is going through bank costs for NSF and/or overdraft fees or taking a look at potential late fees and then attainable penalties from them, a short-time period mortgage paid off quickly does help. Besides potentially saving money by using an emergency mortgage, these borrowers can even assist to save lots of potential detrimental stories onto their credit score history. If you may keep your creditor from raising your interest rate, you can be saving lots of cash over the long-run. Some creditors have penalty charges which can run increased than you payday direct lender’s rate. Excessive curiosity on a revolving account with a hefty stability is damaging to any finances. It makes good financial sense to shop around for one of the best payday loan lender charges. As a substitute of making use of for the primary lender you discover, make a list of 5 totally different lenders and name them. The extra questions you ask about their phrases and conditions the higher informed you will be when it’s time to use for the mortgage. You want additional cash fast and a payday loan will assist money matters so take a couple of moments to seek out one of the best direct payday lenders to work with.

Due to the absence of hard and fast earnings, senior residents may not be probably the most popular group of consumers. Nonetheless, a constant inflow of social safety income and other retirement perks show to be credible documentation for buying an auto loan. A very good credit rating is usually an energy is not just establishing goodwill but in addition to negotiating a decrease interest rate total. Once a senior citizen applies for an auto mortgage, they may discover that a creaseless credit score historical past and growing retirement accounts are usually not ample. As a rule, lenders look for purchasers with a steady revenue. That is to keep up the equilibrium between the debt owed to the lender and income earned by the senior citizen. Thus, disclosing income records becomes essential in acquiring an auto loan. With multiple incomes that are wholesome, getting approval for an auto loan turns into simple. As in some other loan, variable and fixed rates are the parameters on which the curiosity rate of an auto loan is based. When in comparison with other loans, considered one of the major advantages of automobile financing with a hard and fast rate APR or Annual Share Price shall be that the quantity will probably be fixed all through the term of the mortgage. This ensures that you may be shielded from any fluctuations in the interest fee. Subsequently, the uniform repayment together with the mounted APR induces extra confidence in opting for an auto loan than another type of loans. Furthermore, in your retirement years, it seems greatest to go for low risk mounted price loans. So if you are curbing your need to buy your dream automotive or simply holding again, when it truly is a necessity, making use of for auto loans seems to be the ideal transfer.

 

Filed Under: Personal Finance

What To Do Financially Following an Auto Accident

May 30, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Your first concern after an auto accident in which you or a loved were injured must be for the safety and immediate medical care of whoever was injured. But as soon as convenient, the very next thing you should be doing is contacting a well seasoned car accident lawyer.

It’s not hard to find a personal injury lawyer Houston, but be sure you’re entrusting your financial future (which may depend on your claim) to a firm that has a long, local track record of winning maximum compensation for its clients.

With over 17,000 people seriously injured in car accidents in Texas in 2016, and 3,773 in-state auto accident fatalities, you can’t just assume “it won’t happen to me.” You need a financial survival plan laid out ahead of time.

Evidence Gathering Actions

If you are injured and rushed off to a hospital from the scene of the accident, you can’t be expected to take down names and driver’s license numbers and the like. But a loved one should act quickly, if you can’t, to gather all relevant information and evidence.

Call the police to report the accident if they weren’t seen at the scene. And contact them to get a copy of the police report too, if there is one.

Obtain the name, contact information, license plate and driver’s license number, and other critical information on the other driver. You will also need to find out who provides his/her auto insurance at some point in order to call them to file a claim. You will also need to talk to your own insurer about the accident as well.

Getting a chance to talk with any witnesses at the accident scene is also crucial. As is working to reconstruct the accident based on any physical evidence. A lawyer is often helpful in this step.

Be Careful Who You Talk To

Be tight-lipped about the accident. If you admit or imply an admission of guilty at the scene of the accident or later on to the other driver, the other driver’s insurer, your own insurer, or someone else, it could shrink or totally defeat your claim.

Be wary of giving an insurance company a statement without first consulting an experienced injury lawyer. Do be cooperative with police, and do show courtesy and politeness to all, but don’t give away extra information to those who might twist it and use it against you later.

Be Wary of Early Settlement Offers

If an insurer calls you and makes you a settlement offer, don’t immediately accept (or reject) it. A good injury lawyer will know whether or not it’s a fair offer. And he/she can help ensure you get the best quality medical treatment, full compensation for all property damage, and a reasonable non-economic settlement for pain and suffering.

Also realize that some injuries, like whiplash, don’t always show up right after the accident – it could take weeks before the true effects of the accident on you and the associated costs are known. So that’s another good reason not to quickly agree to an early settlement offer.

Keep Track of All Expenses

Finally, be sure to track your medical expenses meticulously from day one. You need to keep a detailed account of all treatments/prescribed medications. And you need a file full of all bills and doctor’s notes to serve as proof later on.

Keep a diary that can be used to help calculate non-economic damages. Write down how the injury has affected your daily life. And gather pay stubs, tax returns, and other evidence to show how much income you’ve lost due to the injury.

Be careful to methodically gather evidence and take actions to protect your right to full compensation as early as possible, and it will greatly increase your chances of receiving a maximized instead of minimized settlement.

 

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Where Did Baby Boomers Go Wrong in Financially Preparing for Retirement

May 30, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Baby Boomers, the American generation born between 1946 – 1964, are retiring. In fact, a lot of Baby Boomers retire every day; however, research has found that, as a group, they are not very well prepared for their retirement. They don’t have the funds they need to lead peaceful, happy and content lives once they retire. Forget about the luxuries, many finance experts believe that Baby Boomers will be forced to give up on items such as  roomy houses, newer cars and other things which they have grown accustomed to. Sadly, many Boomers will survive with just the basic amenities.

Here’s an infographic that lays out the facts on Baby Boomer retirement.

Where Did Baby Boomers Go Wrong?

This is one of the most interesting analysis of what actually went wrong for Baby Boomers and why they cannot enjoy a financially stress-free retirement.

They Did Not Invest Wisely

Experts believe that perhaps the most common factor that put Baby Boomers in this dire situation is that they failed to make wise investments. They either believed friends or invested without carrying out apt research. Baby Boomers needed the right portfolio allocation, but instead many of them either did not invest much at all or invested in the wrong entities.

Secondly, Baby Boomers did not fully plan for their retirement. While Baby Boomers spent a lot on their kids’ education and supporting relatives, they failed to take the essential step of planning their retirement. The retirement funds which are highly popular these days were not very common one or two decades ago. The lack of awareness and availability impacted the Baby Boomer’s preparation for retirement.

Lastly, the other major hurdle Baby Boomers face is having to make monthly mortgage and home equity loan payments. The factors all add up and result in a large percentage of Baby Boomers not being able to use their pensions and superannuation funds to support their living post retiring.

What Can Baby Boomers Do Now to Find Money for Retirement?

Undeniably, Baby Boomers don’t have much time to make more money for retirement. , But, even now, this generation of people can improve their current situation. All they need is the right advice and an accurate evaluation of their current situation. This will allow them to understand where they stand and how they can improve their position. Baby Boomers need to make research-backed decisions which can help their financial situation without creating any further financial losses.

If you are also a Baby Boomer who is going to retire soon, it’s highly important that you prepare yourself well for that moment when you leave the workplace. There are a few new companies like Mason Finance offering the right set of advice to baby boomers that will enable them to strengthen their financial position as much as possible in retirement.

 

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Easy Steps to Start Digging Out of Debt

May 21, 2018 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Getting into debt is much easier than getting out of debt, especially as it continues to build up with what seems like no end in sight. You aren’t destined to be in debt forever. Be proactive and take these easy steps to get yourself out from under the mountain of debt once and for all.

Take an inventory

Take some time to sit down and organize your debt. If it gets too bad, you might not even open your bills to look at the balance due, or glance at and pay the minimum. You can’t create a plan without first knowing exactly how much and who you owe. Create a list of all your debts and their balances to get a full picture of what you need to conquer to get out of debt.

Organize your debts

All debt is not created equal. Some debt, such as your mortgage, is paid before credit cards if you’ve fallen behind. Examine the interest rate on your debts. Some people prefer to pay off debts with the highest interest rate first, while others find that it’s more effective for them to pay the account with the lowest balance and then work on those with higher balances. It saves money to pay the debts with the highest interest rates off first, but some people like to focus on smaller goals and celebrate victories as they pay off their accounts.

Create a budget

Know exactly how much money is coming in and how much you need to pay out. Create a list of everything including your housing, utilities, food, gas, clothing, phone, and anything else you have to pay. See where you can cut down, such as eating out less, combining trips to cut down on fuel usage, or eliminating your paid television subscription in favor of free channels over an antenna. Every extra dollar you can cut from something else can go towards reducing debt.

Avoid scams

Avoid falling victim to a credit counseling or repair service. They cost money and do exactly what you can do on your own for free. There is no quick fix to getting rid of debt. It might be tempting, but avoid payday loans as an option. You’ll get money quick, but at an astronomical interest rate and they’re very risky. Payday loans put you at risk for losing a large sum of income if something happens and you’re unable to pay back what you borrowed. It only adds to your debt. You might want to consider a title loan. Try looking into Florence title loans for a less risky solution.

Snowball

As you pay your debts off, put the amount of the payment on the debt you paid off towards your next highest debt. If you paid off a credit card with a payment of $75/month, take that $75 and put it on another credit card or account to pay those off faster. Continue to follow this method until you pay down on your debt. Take any unexpected income, such as bonuses or overtime, and apply that to your debt too. You’ll save money as you pay your debts off sooner because you won’t incur interest on the balance.

Stop ignoring your bills and take charge to get yourself out of debt. Create a plan, adjust it as needed, and discipline yourself to follow the plan to get and stay out of debt.

 

Filed Under: Personal Finance

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