Tough financial times can hit at any time, but not everyone knows how to deal with the fallout. Rather than drown in ever-growing debt, find a life ring in these useful tips below. Before you know it, you can enjoy being on top of your finances while steadily seeing your savings increase:
Be Smart with Loans and Credit
There’s nothing more stressful than being hit with an emergency expense when you’re already broke. Instead of whipping out the credit card, consider taking out small fast loans. Plenty of providers these days offer low-interest loans, which have much more manageable repayments than a high-interest credit card. What’s more, they are a safer and more affordable alternative to unsavory payday loan sharks.
Get Inventive with Meals
Americans spend an average of $130 per week on groceries – not including takeaways and dining. While this isn’t a tremendous amount, it can often be more than a struggling family can afford. Therefore, it’s crucial to get inventive with meals to help your dollar stretch a bit further. Buy canned food when it’s on special, check out discount bins for low-cost goods, and opt for pasta and grains that are both filling and affordable to buy. Pasta with tinned tomatoes can go a long way to filling a family.
Set a Budget
Only 41 percent of Americans are budgeting, which is concerning given the sheer level of overall debt the country has. If you’re one of the many Americans without a budget who’s suffering through a difficult financial time, it might be time to create one. Knowing how much you earn is one thing, but knowing where all that money goes and should go is entirely another.
Take the time to work out what your necessary outgoings are and what you should have left over. Then, set yourself a daily or weekly allowance while investing into a savings account at the same time.
Start a Vegetable Garden
Eating healthy food helps to create a healthy individual. However, given that snack and junk food is often more affordable, vegetables often get left out of the shopping cart. To ensure your family gets all the nutritious food they require while cutting down on your grocery bill, consider starting a vegetable garden. Potatoes, peas, carrots and other standard vegetables are all effortless to grow and can save you several hundred dollars every year.
Knuckle Down
Too many people are living beyond their means – paying off electronics and other items they can’t afford, and not having money set aside for unexpected costs. As a result, when emergency strikes, they aren’t able to cover it on top of their everyday living expenses. If you’ve found yourself in this unfortunate situation, it’s time to knuckle down.
Begin eating meals at home seven days a week without dining out, walk or take public transport instead of driving, and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. You may also like to consider downgrading your internet and phone plan if it’s a possibility and remember to turn all electronics off at the wall when you’re not using them. Small changes can go a long way toward saving you money.
It might feel like you’re never going to have two pennies to rub together, but being frugal with money can help you to gain a sense of financial freedom. If you live within your means and pay down your debts while trying any of these tips above, you’ll be on your way to financial security far quicker than you could imagine.
