Archives for February 2020

How to Pay Off Debt Fast With Low Income

February 24, 2020 by Jennifer Leach Leave a Comment

Debt is a serious problem. And if you master this top money skill, you can live rich in more ways than you think. Interested to learn how to pay off debt fast with a low income? Keep reading.

According to a recent Gallup survey the average American has 3.7 credit cards with a whopping 71% of us having at least one card.

Furthermore, according to a survey by Bankrate.com a shocking 32% of us say we live paycheck to paycheck, and that staying current or getting caught up on bills is our main financial concern.

In uncertain economic times like these, we need a plan and we need it fast.

Here are a couple quick reasons why you pay your debt off with a low income as quickly as possible.

Don’t like mine?

Get a paper out right now and make your own. Write out your personal why.

Ways to Crush Your Debt on a Low Income

Paying off your debt is in within reach, regardless of your income. Here are some ideas to try.

Increase Your Credit Score

Reducing your balance-to-limit ratio on your credit cards can increase your credit score.

Your credit utilization should be no more than 30% but the lower the better!

Paying off your cards each month is ideal.

For expert help with your credit, I recommend Lexington Law.

I have friends and family that used them with amazing results. They have multiple plans available and they help you track your credit monthly, crush credit errors, dispute items on your credit, increase your credit score, and more.

Highly recommended.

More Financial Security

Having no debt leads to greater financial security.

Monthly payments tie up a good portion of your expendable income. You could be spending the extra money on things you want instead of just things you need. You could be saving for college, retirement, or a down payment for a house or car. You could begin building wealth by making smart investments.

No amount is too small.

Now that you’ve got ample motivation to get started eliminating your debt how are you going to do it?

Get out the paper you wrote you’re the reasons you want to get out of debt and now add the part about how you’re going to get that accomplished.

It’s been proven that if you write down your financial plans and goals you are more likely to reach them. Let’s get started!

Review Your Budget

Find ANY area you can cut back. I would strip back that budget to what Finance Guru, Dave Ramsey, calls “beans and rice”. You get the idea?

Strip back your budget to the items you have to pay, and get the expendables to as little as you can.

Cut out and turn off ALL non-essential-to-life items. These would be the “wants” like cable, manicures, dinners out, vacations, etc.

List Your Debts

All of them! It doesn’t matter if it’s a $3 library fee, or a $10 loan from Mom or even a $20,000 car loan write them down from lowest to highest. Note: for the purpose of this exercise we are only dealing with consumer debt in this article- do not include your mortgage at this point.

Take all of the money that you have from stripping back your budget to essentials and start putting it towards your lowest (dollar amount) debt paying the minimum only on the rest.

Paying off your littlest debt first will give you a sense of immediate freedom. Once that debt is paid off take the increased money you now have and apply to your next biggest debt. It’s called “Snowballing” and it works well.

The snowball gets bigger as it rolls. In the same way, the more funds that become freed up, the more you will be able to add to the next debt and so on.

Make a Plan

Plan out (on a calendar) how long it will take you to pay off each debt. Build in little incentives in your budget for each debt paid off, (or if you have a lot of debt, or will take a long time, celebrate ¼ milestones, or ½ milestones on debts).

It will help you to see progress. Don’t go crazy though. Only use $10, or $50 (whatever is reasonable) of your snowball debt money to treat your family (maybe dinner, maybe more grocery money, a movie, etc.) when you have hit a goal.

Your family will be sacrificing for a period of time so it’s good to reward them for short-term goals to keep the long goal in view.

Look for Extra Money for How to Pay Off Debt Fast on a Low Income

Find ways to add more money to help your snowball grow so you can pay off your debt sooner.

Have a yard sale, get a paper route, or deliver pizza, or start an Etsy shop (don’t spend a lot of money on supplies, etc.) to sell your hobby, or start with a direct sales business for a season (one that doesn’t require a huge investment- do your homework!) or _________.

Figure it out! You can do this!

I hope you found this article on how to pay off debt fast on a low income inspiring. This is within reach for you!

With dedication, hard work, and sacrifice, you can get out of debt- quick! And then work a plan to stay that way.

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How to Spend Your Tax Refund

February 24, 2020 by Jennifer Leach Leave a Comment

Tax Day is April 15th and you might be wondering how to spend your tax refund.

It comes every year and with it, our Facebook feeds, Twitter and Instagram accounts are full with everyone updating and showing off friends & family playing with the new “toys” they got with their tax refund!

Some people get a new car every year, or go on a family vacation, or go to an extravagant dinner they couldn’t have otherwise afforded.

For many families, tax season is the best time of year. Soon, they’re taking pictures of the latest Disney vacation, or the latest piece of technology they purchased. What does all this have in common? People are spending when they should probably be saving.

Let’s be real. Saving just isn’t as fun as spending but what if I told you that saving your tax return each year sets you up for opportunities to have more spending money throughout the year? Would you be interested in hearing more?

It’s true that a little delayed satisfaction can go a long way here. Let’s take for example, a family of four and a $1,500 tax refund. Believe it or not, that amount is modest by some standards.

This $1,500 could provide…

a nice vacation for a family of four including hotel lodgings, fun and meals, OR
an action packed staycation at local attractions, museums & theme parks OR
an elegant night on the town (or two), OR
a down payment for a newer, nicer car on a trade-in.

But what if, instead, that same $1,500 was used to pre-pay your family’s electric bill (average $150/month) for 10 months? That would provide instant cash access of $150/month for 10 months!

Think of all the fun your family could have each month with that extra money. You could go to a museum, or go to the movies and dinner, or save a couple months and go to the local attractions.

You could eliminate a bill that you pay each month, freeing up room in your regular budget and allowing you to create a new budget item of “FUN!”

Other Ideas for How to Spend Your Tax Refund

Alternately, you could choose to pay off a debt, freeing your family of the burden of monthly payments and opening up that money for spending. You could also save or invest that money and see real dividends! That same $1,500 saved, or better yet, invested, could provide you with some real earning potential over the course of just a few years.

For a relatively conservative example, let’s say that your family invested the $1,500 in a return that yielded 4% compounded annually. The first year you would have $1,560.00. Doesn’t sound like much, does it?

Let’s say you decided to do the same again with your return (each year being $1,500) for an additional 3 years. In a matter of 4 years, your family would have $6,369.70. Doing this for 10 years in would leave you with a comfortable $18,009.16. Now THAT is something to get excited about! Think of all the ways you could spend all that money.

I think you might agree it was worth the time and energy spent saving. Sometimes the best way to spend your tax refund is not at all!

Shopping at the Dollar Store: Is It Really A Deal?

February 24, 2020 by Jennifer Leach Leave a Comment

Everyone loves to get something at a discount. I mean, who doesn’t seriously L-O-V-E a good deal? However, one thing we all need to learn is how to discern if a deal really is the good bargain it seems to be.… A good deal has to actually be a good deal.

The Truth About Shopping at The Dollar Store

If you like to shop at a dollar store you might be making the mistake of assuming any item for a dollar is a good deal but that might not be true.

Here are a few tips to review before your next trip to the dollar store to make sure you are getting the real deals that are offered.

Make a List.

How many times have you run into a dollar store to pick up a couple of items and $76 later, you come out, hands full, with stuff you never intended to buy. You need a list of items to buy so you can avoid mindless shopping and blowing your budget on items you just don’t need!

What items should be on your list:

Office supplies
Art/School project supplies
Books
Cleaning supplies
Home Décor
Party Décor
Small Door Prizes
Stocking Stuffers
Hostess gifts (bath & body lotion, wash, pretty scented items)
Beauty Products (shampoo, soap, hair accessories, hair spray, cotton swabs, and etc.)
Batteries (they seem to last just as long as more pricey brands

What should NOT be on your list:

Medicine, (from a financial perspective alone, 8 pills for $1 isn’t a good deal!)
Toys
Plastic Wrap
Paper products like paper plates, cups, toilet paper- quantity and quality issues make this a no deal.

Something else you should not have on your list is any item you have not priced out prior- for example, food.

A can of vegetables seems like a great buy- it’s just a $1, right? But had you shopped at your grocery store, you could have gotten them for .50 cents or less on sale. It turns out that isn’t such a great deal after all. Another great example of this is meat. Our local dollar store sells bologna, ham, turkey, etc. for $1.

But it’s a 1/8 of a pound so I am paying $8 for a pound of meat! No. Again, any item that you have not calculated at a comparable price at another store should not be bought at the dollar store. Chances are you will be overpaying.

Something to remember; always check the quantity of any item you are buying. $1 for a product simply packaged smaller is not a good deal, even when it feels like it! Run the numbers before you shop!

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4 Things You’re Probably Paying Too Much For

February 24, 2020 by Jennifer Leach Leave a Comment

Have you ever received a bill in the mail to renew a service and you realized that 1) you were already paying for that same service with another company and 2) you were already covered for the same service by an even different company?

Here’s an example: Are you paying for towing assistance through a company like AAA?

Take a look at your car warranty. Are you paying to include that? Now check your automobile insurance policy.

Are you covered for towing? If you so then you’re already paying for that service.

I mean, you’re working your online weekend job for extra money. You don’t wanna blow that extra money by paying too much, right?

Here’s a list so you can do your own inventory and find some savings in your budget where you too, can cut the fat!

Roadside Services

So, we’ve discussed this. But start here. Take a look at what you are currently paying for, what might have duplicate coverage and what you’d be able to drop altogether.

You can save money by not renewing your roadside service and dropping the monthly towing and car rental package on your insurance because it might be covered under your car warranty.

Before you drop anything, make sure the service you keep is what you truly need, you don’t want to be under-prepared, but you also don’t want to be double-paying for services you already have covered elsewhere.

My roadside assistance is offered through my auto insurance.

There are auto clubs where you can pay a low monthly fee to get roadside too, or check in with your credit card company, bank, etc. You could have the service and not even know it!

TV Services

Here we’re talking about – Netflix, Redbox rentals, Hulu, Roku, Dish, Cable, Direct TV.

All of it.

Many people have multiple subscriptions but a quick analysis of your viewing habits can show you what your true needs are.

It doesn’t make sense to keep two services when one does the job.

You can save $1,022.40 this year by dropping an $80/month satellite service and skipping a $2.40 weekly trip to the big red box.

Instead, just keep the streaming movie and TV series subscription. You might have to wait for a few weeks to watch the latest movies, but you probably won’t hate all that extra money you saved!

Phone/Internet/TV Services

We all know this, but how many of us actually DO this?

Bundle, Bundle, Bundle!

When I bundled my TV, phone, and internet, my deal was so awesome it was like I got internet free!

Check with your provider to see what options are available.

If you are going with a TV service as listed above, and you have internet or phone services, then be sure to get a bundle price.

ALSO- never feel bad asking for a discount. If you see a new customer offer, (especially when you are out of contract) be sure to ask if they will extend the deal to you.

You will have to speak to the customer retention department (rather than customer service) but they will likely offer to give you the same deal if you express your desire to go elsewhere if they can’t extend the offer to their loyal customers.

Internet

Unless you work from home then perhaps you should investigate using your cell phone as a hot spot to provide internet service for your devices. For just a little more a month (and sometimes it is a provided service, depending on your cell plan) you can use your cell phone service to also stream the internet.

Make sure to check into this before forking over a monthly internet service.

Alternatively, you could cut the data service from your cell phone provider and use Wi-Fi on your phone instead. Think about how and where you use the internet and make the choice that will work best for you and your family.

Summary

Use these tips to start reviewing areas where you may be over paying, and start saving today! And don’t stop there! Make a list of other areas you thought of and get to work, saving your hard-earned dollars. Your piggy bank will squeal in delight!