Money Management Tips to Help you Through the Year
January, often times is a hard month for people when it comes to money. Christmas bills start rolling in, insurance premiums change, and some find out if they get a raise or not. It’s also the month where lay-offs occur because of the slow down after Christmas. No matter how you look at it, January can be a month a lot of people would like to forget.
If you find you’re in one of these situations, money can be the closest thing to your mind and something you want to go away. If there was a way to forget about money all together, I think most people would do it. Finances are a struggle all the time and they can cause more arguments between spouses than anything else. They put a burden on people and cause them to do strange and sometimes stupid things.
We can say save, save, save throughout the year, but that’s not always easy to do. If you leave beyond your means or from paycheck to paycheck, savings is not an option. If you do have the ability to save, what’s not to say the car won’t break down or the washer decides to die? If those or any other thing happens, your savings can be gone in a heartbeat. Then what?
People will tell you to get another job, coupon, or slow down on your spending. What happens if you already have two jobs, you don’t have the money to buy newspapers to get coupons, and you’re only buying things you need? What do you do at that point?
While those suggestions are good and valid, they may not be the solution. There has to be another way to either increase your income or decrease your bills. Here are a few to consider.
1. Refinance your mortgage
2. Consolidate your debt
3. Apply for financial assistance
4. Sell items you don’t need
Those are the top four things you can do to save money each month. You could consider selling your home and moving to one that’s cheaper. You could also consider changing jobs if the one you have doesn’t pay as much as others do. Another option is to sell your vehicles, go down to one, and get a cheap one that doesn’t cost a lot to maintain each month.
There are many things to consider when looking for ways to save money or spend less each month. Some may work for you, while others may not. The best way to see what will work is to sit down, look at your finances, and see what you can do to get where you need to be each month. Good luck!
