Beat the Credit Crunch. Ways to reduce you household bills.

Credit Cards

You could be saving hundreds of pounds and more.

As we all know the credit crunch reared its ugly head at one of the worst times, just before Christmas. January and February are always the tightest on our pockets normally, as many people are recovering from an expensive holiday season. Prepare for next Christmas now and ease the financial stress for next year. Make a small investment on a ‘magic diary’. It is a magic diary, which could save you hundreds of pounds or more over the next several months. Without realising our true spending habits for what they are, it is normal for us Brits to buy things out of habit, comfort and with the excuse ‘I want that’.

Once it’s bought, we hardly pay attention to it, ask if we actually needed it or even use everything we’ve bought. Ask yourself this, how much food do you think you throw away every week and every month and if you went out now to buy everything you have thrown away over the last month, how much would it cost you now?

Every time you spend money, no matter what it is for, write what it is you bought or paid for and the exact cost in your little book, with the date you bought the item on. It doesn’t matter how small the amount you’ve spent, it all adds up in the end. Also make notes at the back of the book of all the things you have paid for and had to or decided to throw it away. This may sound time consuming but it isn’t really when you think of the money you could be saving, you never know, but if you note the time actually spent doing this combined with the suprising amount of money you will be saving, it could actually work out really beneficial to you.

Everyone knows that this credit crunch is a world wide problem but stay smart and you may come out from this global situation better than before.

Think about everything before you buy anything, think about whether what your buying is an ‘I need it’ or an ‘I want it’ item and stay honest with yourself and you’ll save on a high percentage of your income immediately.

If your an individual who buys gift and other things to ‘Keep Up With The Jones’s’ THEN STOP. The keeping up with the Jones’s now involves a new angle and that’s talking and living the credit crunch, while it lasts. When the pound became weak and the euro dropped in December 2008, people all over the U.K. panicked even more, worried about long term investments etc. If you can afford to hold on to any properties abroad you may own, even if things are tight financially, then hold on as things will be on the up at the latest within a few years and as inflation reduces your investments may have a significant increase.

How to Keep Debt Out of Your life

Debt

It’s common knowledge that economies around the world are suffering. It’s no different in the UK and it’s time to turn things around before they get out of hand. People may not be able to turn the economy around in a day or change the way the global finances are dealt with but it is well within one’s reach to look at home first and find a solution to your own personal financial situation. And that starts with tackling personal debt. Here are ten tips on how to get your personal debt under control and conquer the beast that’s been attacking your pocket.

1. Pay off your highest interest debt first. If you have a car loan that has a higher total of money owed to it that your credit cards, throw more of your monthly income at that first. Chances are it is a multi-year loan with a higher interest rate than your credit cards. And if you can pay that off sooner than is scheduled by paying more money towards the principal, you have a good chance of saving a lot of money that would have otherwise gone to paying interest on that loan.
2. Keep your credit card debt at a consistent level. This will require you to use your credit card less than you may be accustomed to, but it is a sound way to handle not building up more debt while eliminating debt in another area of your finances.
3. Use cash instead of credit cards. Budget in a certain amount of cash to be spent per week, and try not to withdraw more cash than that per week. By breaking it down into a weekly budget and only allowing yourself a minimal amount, you’re more likely to stick to your cash budget and not overspend.
4. Cut back on the vices. Whether its cigarettes or coffee, cut down and see how much you’ll save.
5. Put aside your spare change. You’d be surprised at the end of the year at how much that spare change will add up to.
6. Eliminate some of the expenses you already have. It might be a luxury that you enjoy but if you can do without it that money can be reallocated towards something more beneficial.
7. Don’t buy something unless you need it. It’s amazing how much money we spend on frivolous materials that are either hardly used or that we don’t even use at all.
8. Watch your energy bills. Using less electricity and gas can add up to a large amount of money saved over the course of the year.
9. Set up a weekly budget, a monthly budget and an annual budget. Be certain to check it often and see if you are staying on course. This is a way to hold yourself accountable and is likely to help you stick to your financial plan.
10. Be smart, control your impulses and make wise financial choices.

They will pay off.

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