So, Christmas is over. Presents were bought and handed out. The empty boxes and undecorated tree, are laying by the curb. As everyone gets back into their normal routines, you realize one of two things….
You’re broke!
Or you have credit card bills coming in the mail… AND you’re broke!
For the majority of Americas, it is the latter. Some years it can take the whole year to pay credit cards off, just to charge them back up again, that Christmas. So what do we do to change this?
Well, if you really want to end the cycle of buying, owing, paying off, and then starting over… here are some hard, yet helpful tips to make 2013 different from years past.
1.) Pull all your bills together and write them down. Use a sheet like Debt Snowball (thanks to Financial Peace University) to help. {Maybe keep it in your checkbook.} Being able to visually see what you owe, all in one place will help you to understand where you are at… by also reminding you of this debt, when you think about spending some money on something else {ehm… drive-thru coffee?}!
2.) Look at the rest of your budget and decide which things are necessities (ie. house payments/rent, heating bills, other contractual payments, etc.) and what are luxuries. Try to eliminate as many luxuries as possible. I just cancelled the Sunday newspaper delivery, because it cost more than picking it up at a store on the way home from church {having it delivered was the luxury}; plus I save, on the weeks that I don’t even need a newspaper because there are no coupons included anyways {who actually reads their newspaper?}. You’ll be amazed at what money you can find, that you already had, when eliminating the things that you can live without.
3.) Look for ways to make extra money. Sell items on Craigslist {which reminds me… I need to do this}, make and sell crafts or baked goods, start a small business, write an eBook, or any other *legal* way that you can think of to get some extra cash flow into your house.
4.) Now that you have a little extra cash, and every time that you do, pay off one or more of those bills (more than the minimum payment). Start with the least amount owed bill… and get rid of it (by paying it off). Make sure you’re still paying the minimum payments on all other debt, while doing this.
5.) After everything is paid off, take this extra money, and open a Christmas Club Account at your local bank or credit union, to save for Christmas 2013. Remember Christmas is a luxury to some… so using your “luxury money” to pay for Christmas ahead of time, maybe even earning a little interest, is so much easier to do than paying after the fact. Plan how much you’ll need for Christmas 2013, then add an extra $50-100 to cover unexpected expenses or price increases. After you have your money saved… Christmas 2013 is done… go get a drive-thru coffee… and relax… it’s all paid for!
Jen G. loves to encourage homeschool families over at Gricefully Homeschooling. She homeschools her 9 year old son and her 16 year old daughter, with a Biblical Homeschool Philosophy (solid foundation), while also dealing with a chronic illness. In her spare time, she likes to read, cook, organize her new home in the country, and follow Jesus. (Not in that order.) You can find Jen on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, G+.
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