It’s the New Year, and you’re hoping to revamp some things in your life. You’re starting a new fitness regimen that will get you back in shape. You’re watching recipe videos so that you can improve your skills in the kitchen. You’re making all of these changes, so why not revamp your finances too?
These are three resolutions that you can take on to revamp your finances this year.
1. Start a Budget
A budget can give you clear spending guidelines so that you don’t accidentally drain your bank account before your next paycheck comes in. Once you make one, you’ll find that you’re much more responsible with your money.
Here are some other benefits that come with budgeting:
- It can reveal bad spending habits that you want to change.
- It can show opportunities to cut costs and save money.
- It can reduce your financial anxiety.
How do you get started? That’s easy. Simply download one of the top budgeting apps out there on your smartphone or computer and then follow the steps. Soon enough, you’ll have a sensible budget ready on your device. After that, your only goal should be to follow it to the best of your abilities.
2. Save for Emergencies
Another resolution that will completely revamp your finances this year is making an emergency fund. Without this fund, a single surprise expense could throw a wrench into your plans. You might have to use money that you’ve reserved for other essentials to handle the expense, which could lead to a domino effect of late bill payments, penalties and problems down the line.
In the early stages of your emergency fund, you might not have enough savings to manage a surprise expense. In this unlucky scenario, you have a couple of options: you could put the charge onto your credit card and pay the balance down later, or you could apply for a secured personal loan online. If you’re approved for a personal loan, you can use the necessary funds to handle the problem quickly. After that, you will need to follow a steady repayment plan.
It’s crucial that you only look for personal loans available in your home state. So, if you live in Detroit, you should be looking for personal loans in Michigan to help you with your emergency. This will speed up your application process.
3. Pay Down Your Debt
Are your credit card balances too close to the limit? Then, your resolution for the year should be to pay them down. If you don’t make an effort to tackle the balances, they will keep growing with interest and get out of control. You could end up maxing out your credit cards and having a huge amount of debt to deal with.
So, how can you start with this resolution? Your best bet is to try the snowball debt repayment strategy — this means that you will make payments on the card with the lowest amount first and then make the minimum payments on the others. The goal of this strategy is to eliminate small debts quickly and build up your momentum to tackle larger debts.
Think of what your finances will look like once you’ve taken on these resolutions. You’ll have a practical budget that stops you from overspending. You’ll have an emergency fund that protects you from surprise expenses. And you’ll have less debt sitting on your shoulders. Doesn’t that sound great?
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