How To Avoid Payday Loans

A budget is simply a way to organize your money. A lot of people make a monthly budget to track their income and expenses. A monthly budget shows you how much you’re expecting to receive (income) and how much you’re expecting to spend (expenses) in that month.

A budget gives you a complete view of your finances, showing you how much of your income you’re spending and where it’s going, every month. Once you know this, you not only have a better understanding of your finances, but you can make choices that will help you reach your financial goals.

For example, if you’re trying to get out of debt, but already feel like you’re barely getting by, creating a budget can help you find ways to cut back on expenses and put more money towards your debt every month. You also won’t know exactly how much money you’re able to put towards paying off your loans each month until you know how much money is left over after all of your expenses have been paid.

Creating a budget is an important part of reaching your financial goals. But going from spending without thinking to using a monthly budget can be a hard transition to make. So, if you need help with budgeting, we’re sharing our top tips to make using a budget (almost) second-nature.

1. Find accountability

Accountability is key to accomplishing goals and staying on track. We’re much more likely to do what we say we’re going to do if others know about.

If your finances are combined with your spouse or significant other, help hold each other accountable. If you’re on your own, find a friend or family member who’s willing to check in with you and hold you accountable to make a monthly budget and use it. It’s best to find someone who’s working towards similar goals as you.

Ask the person to check in with you weekly and monthly to ensure you’re creating a budget and staying on track throughout the month. Accountability doesn’t mean yelling and screaming and demanding that you do what you said you were going to do. So, find someone who’ll give you gentle nudges and will remind you why you started working towards this goal in the first place.

Another way to create accountability for yourself is by sharing your goals out loud. Post them on facebook. Share monthly updates of your financial goals (getting out of debt, paying off your house, etc.) on your blog. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing exact numbers, share percentages or in other ways, instead. By sharing, you’re holding yourself accountable and also hopefully receiving encouragement from your friends and family in return. And it’s perfectly OK to ask for help with budgeting. Some of your friends and family may have experience and be able to provide you with helpful tips along the way.

2. Set aside time in advance

Using a budget means putting in a little extra work to keep track of your finances. When you’re first getting started, it can take more time as you learn the ropes of creating and using a budget. So, set aside time in advance. Plan to sit down once a month and make a monthly budget for the following month. Depending on your finances, expect to spend 30 minutes to 1 hour every month. Then, set aside smaller chunks of time every week to review your spending and update your budget.

Budgeting doesn’t have to be time-consuming and overwhelming, though. There’s some amazing online tools that can help automate your budget. Check out our list of the Best Online Budgeting Tools to Get Out of Debt for a list of great places to start. If you find a budgeting tool and system that works for you, and set aside time in advance, it will be a lot easier to hold yourself accountable.

3. Set goals that you’re excited about

A budget isn’t just a great way to keep track of your finances. It’s also a great way to stay on track for accomplishing your financial goals. Whether you’re paying off debt or saving up for a big purchase, a budget can keep you on track. But the best way to stay on track, is to set goals that you’re excited about.

When you set goals you’re excited about, it’s a lot easier to stay on track. Tracking your expenses and using a budget takes time and work. It requires a little more consideration before making a purchase. So, if you’re using a budget to accomplish a goal that you’re not excited about, it’s a lot easier to get off track.

4. Make it easy!

Keep it simple. This may be the best piece of advice we have to help with budgeting. The easier something is, the more likelier you are to do it. So, simplify your budgeting process as much as possible.

Find an online tool that does a lot of the work for you. You can check out our list of the best online budgeting tools to get started. Create a schedule for yourself to sit down monthly and create your budget. Maybe you schedule a budget meeting with yourself for the 1st of each month. Try to make the process as easy as possible. That also means setting goals for yourself that are easy to accomplish. Rather than setting one large goal, break it down into smaller goals that are easy to reach. If you have a monthly goal, you’re more likely to stay on track for that entire month than you would be if you were working towards a goal that was six months away.

If you’re working towards getting out of debt, try using a budget. These 4 tips can help make the habit of budgeting easier. If you’re stuck in the payday loan debt trap, give us a call. A budget can help you get your finances in order to get out of debt, but we can help make the process of getting out of payday loan debt even easier.

Want to Know More?

See:  A Guide To Using A Monthly Budget

Check out our list of the Best Online Budgeting Tools to Help You Get Out of Debt

A surprisingly large number of Americans don’t have enough money saved to cover an unexpected $500 emergency. So, what happens when the fridge stops working or the car needs urgent repairs? Most turn to credit, and for some, that credit comes in the form of high-interest payday loans. You can’t avoid unexpected financial emergencies. But you can avoid the added stress of not having enough money in the bank to cover the expense. So, whether you’re starting from scratch or you spent all your savings last month on the holidays, here’s 10 different ways to save money ($1,000!!!) in January!

1. Skip the Gym

After spending December eating and drinking our way through holiday parties and dinners, January marks the start of the gym rush. More people than at any other time of the year sign up for new gym memberships or start using the ones they already had.

Gym memberships can be costly. So, rather than the joining the crowd and rushing to the gym on January 2, make a different (and less expensive) health and fitness plan. Trying working out at home instead. There’re lots of great workouts you can find for free on YouTube and around the internet.

Average Savings: $58

2. Cancel Your Cable

We know how important Game of Thrones and Walking Dead are to you, but you can save over $1,000 a year by ditching your expensive cable bill. And thanks to all of the amazing online streaming options, you can get rid of cable without missing all of your favorite shows.

Average Savings: $100.00

3. Sell Your Gift Cards

You know the stack of gift cards you got last month that you’re never going to use? Cash them in. There’s a variety of ways to cash in your gift cards. So, do your research and find out where you can get the most bang for your buck.

Even if the gift cards are to places where you’d love to go spend some money on non-essentials, sell them anyways. If you’re serious about saving $1,000 this month, that may mean foregoing some of those things you really want, but don’t need.

Average Savings: $100

4. Find a Side Hustle

A side hustle is a job you do in addition to your main career focus to help make some extra money. Side hustles are great options for earning extra income temporarily or long-term. They often have a lot of flexibility that allows you to do them in your extra hours – before work in the morning or after work at night.

Check out this list of 68 side hustle ideas to get started.

Average Savings: Several hundred dollars – $1,000+

5. Sell stuff

While you’re decluttering and organizing after the holidays, spend time finding things around your house to get rid of. Chances are, your closets, attic, garage, and rooms are full of old furniture, clothes, and electronics that you don’t use or need anymore. Sell them!

When you spend time finding things to get rid of, you’ll be surprised at just how much money you can make with things that are lying around your house. There’s a variety of ways to sell this stuff: a yard/garage sale, at a consignment shop, on eBay, on Craigslist.

Average Savings: several hundred dollars (or more, depending on what you have to sell)

6. Call Your Cell Phone & Car Insurance Company

It’s time to renegotiate your monthly plans. It’s surprising how easy it is to get a discount when you’re willing to ask for it. And saving $20-$50 a month on your car insurance or cell phone plan can save you several hundred dollars a year.

Check out this article for tips on how to cut your cell phone bill.

Check out this article for ways to negotiate your car insurance fees and premium.

Average Savings: $100

7. Do a Spending Freeze

After the spending frenzy of the holidays, January is the perfect time to try a spending freeze. A spending freeze is when you spend nothing on anything but the essentials (think rent, groceries, electricity, gas). Here are some great tips on how to plan for a spending freeze.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your goal is to spend as little money as possible. So, you want to cut out every non-essential expense. Those include eating out, new clothes, expensive salon visits, etc.

Imagine how much money you can save by freezing your spending for just one month!

Average Savings: several hundred dollars

8. Increase Your Income

If you try all of these options, there’s no reason why you cannot increase your income this month. When you talk about increasing your income, a lot of people find the thought of doing that next to impossible. But here’s several options for how you can do just that:

• Ask for a raise in your current job
• Find a newer, higher paying job
• Start a side hustle (see #4 and #10)
• Find a second, part-time job

Increasing your income can not only help you achieve your goal of saving $1,000 this month, but can help you achieve your long-term goals, as well.

Average Savings: several hundred – several thousand dollars

9. Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

Going into the grocery store without a plan is a recipe for a budget disaster. With a little planning ahead of time, though, you can drastically reduce your grocery spending, and even cut it in half. Check out this list for some helpful tips and creative ideas on how you can cut your grocery bill in half with a little extra work.

Average Savings: $150

10. Put Your Organizational Skills to Good Use

It’s January and everyone is trying to get organized and ready for another new year. Everyone dreads the task of taking down, organizing, and putting away all of the Christmas and holiday decoration. So, it’s the perfect time to put your organizational skills to good use and make some extra money.

Share your skills with friends and neighbors and offer to help them get organized. “Professional Organizer” is a real career title. Google it!

People are busy. They don’t have a lot of time. And they’re looking for help wherever they can get it. So, share a post on Facebook, send a few texts, and find out who needs some extra help this month.

Average Savings: a few extra hundred dollars (or more, depending on how much work you find!)

The holidays are an exciting, and stressful, time of the year. Between holiday parties, decorations, and gifts, the list of holiday expenses can quickly add up, and your spending can get out of control. On average, Americans with holiday debt, add nearly $1,000 to their overall debt, due to the holidays.

Unfortunately, going into debt to cover holiday expenses doesn’t end when the holidays do, and it can quickly snowball into more debt. It follows you into the new year, and payday loan debt can continue to follow you for months after.The easiest form of payday loan relief is avoiding payday loans in the first place. So, today, we’re sharing with you our tips for staying out of debt around the holidays.

Here’s How to Avoid Holiday Debt:

Plan ahead

Walking into the grocery store without a plan is never a good idea. And neither is going into the Christmas season without one. Going into the holiday season without a plan almost always results in splurging on expensive gifts, overspending, and turning to debt to help cover what you can’t. Instead, plan ahead of time how much you’ll spend on gifts, decorations, and food. A plan will help you make sure you’re not overspending and that you also have all of your holiday expenses covered.

When planning ahead, think about who you’ll be buying gifts for and how much you’ll spend on each person. If you’ll be doing any traveling to see friends or family during the holidays, plan for those additional expenses. And don’t forget about the additional expenses that are often overlooked: decorations, hosting holiday meals, hostess gifts for holiday parties, giving, etc..

Stick to a budget

Before you do any shopping, make a budget. Decide how much you can and will spend overall. Then, break that down into smaller parts: gifts, decorations, travel, food. Shopping without a budget almost always leads to overspending and splurging on things you wouldn’t have otherwise. More important than making a budget, though, is actually sticking to it.

If you’re creating your first budget, use our guide to help!

Set aside money before the holidays

If you haven’t already starting saving, start now. After creating a budget and deciding how much you plan to spend, start setting aside money before the holidays. Saving money ahead of time will help you make sure you’ll have the money you need to cover holiday expenses without having to turn to payday loans or other quick cash solutions.

Do It Yourself (DIY)

Get crafty! Buying gifts, pre-packaged foods, and decorations from big box retailers almost always means you’ll pay more than you would if you made it yourself. You can save a ton of money on gifts by making them rather than buying them from a store. Pinterest is full of great gift ideas that are inexpensive and easy to make at home. Or put your hobbies to good use: sewing, hand-lettering, wood-working, painting, baking.

Making your own decorations can also save you a lot of money. It’s also a great opportunity to get the entire family involved and have some fun! Buy clear, glass ornaments and decorate them yourself. Find items that are already around your house and add some inexpensive red and green to make them more festive. Have the kids paint some signs or hand-letter some pieces yourself. Homemade decorations not only save you a ton of money, but they’re far more meaningful than store-bought ones.

Shop the sales

Most stores offer great deals and discounts throughout the holiday season. Make the most of these opportunities. If you plan ahead and know exactly how much you’re spending and what you’re looking to buy, shopping the sales is easy.

Keep in mind that Black Friday doesn’t always offer the biggest bang for your buck. Be smart, shop around, and find the best deals. A word of caution though: if you go into the sales without a plan in place, it can be easy to overspend and buy more than you were planning to buy. Everyone loves a good deal, and sometimes we get so caught up in the great deal that we spend more than we originally planned to. So, shop the sales, but have a plan in place before you do!

Skip the non-essentials

Easier said than done around the holidays. There’s the temptation to “go all out”. People end up with not one, but two or three Christmas trees. Rather than using the more affordable wrapping paper, you end up with the most festive (and most expensive) wrapping paper, ribbon, bells, and colored tape. It’s easy to overdo it when it comes to gifts, as well, and it gets tougher and tougher to avoid Holiday debt.

You can skip the non-essentials and save a ton of money, while still having a great and festive holiday season. Skip the excessive gift wrapping and unnecessary holiday decorations. Celebrate with a delicious meal without overdoing it with dozens of different dishes and casseroles. And give less gifts with more meaning. Your kids can only play with so many toys at once. So, rather than buying them twenty different toys, maybe you cap it at ten this year.

During a time of the year when we’re focused on excess (too much food, too many gifts, and spending far too much money), instead focus on what’s essential and make the most of that. Your wallet, and your finances, will thank you.

It’s easy to turn to debt to cover all of those holiday expenses. After all, the average American ends the holiday season with an additional $1,000 in debt. But turning to payday loan debt to help cover your holiday expenses isn’t just a short-term fix. Payday loans lead to a cycle of debt that happens with every 4 out of 5 payday loans borrowed. It’s a cycle far too many know all too well. This year, use these helpful tips to plan ahead and avoid holiday debt.

If unexpected bills and the holidays already have you trapped in the payday loan cycle, we can help! We’re a top-rated payday loan consolidation team and we provide payday loan relief. Our one-payment programs work with any budget! If you’re ready to stop online payday lenders automatic debits and find real-time payday loan relief, contact us today!