The season of giving is a special time to appreciate your loved ones for everything they do. To avoid feeling like the Grinch, most of us decorate our homes and gift our loved ones with thoughtful surprises. This joyful mentality usually leaves no one debt free after the holidays.
By the new year, some of us look back and question how we racked up so much debt. Instead of feeling stressed, do yourself a favor by making a plan to tackle debt early. Prosperity Concierge is your go-to bookeeper for debt counseling. We help you get and stay debt free with our financial coaching and bookkeeping service located in Reno, Nevada.
Ways to Manage Holiday Debt
This year we decided to give you a gift that will last a lifetime. Here are five ways to help you manage debt during the holidays.
Create a Holiday Budget
During this time, we all get bitten by a bug that makes us feel so merry and bright that we overspend. Creating a budget is a great way to manage how much you CAN spend. Not only does this approach help you identify where to shop, but it also helps you avoid adding to your debt. You shouldn’t feel obligated to buy gifts and to go into more debt. If you truly can not afford it, don’t buy it.
It is important to make a budgeted list and check it twice. By doing this, you can adjust gift ideas as you go. Experiences like movie tickets, escape rooms, and spa days are all great inexpensive gifts that people enjoy and will remember more than tangible items. This pre-planned list will stop you stay debt free.
No Spend Challenge
You're probably not alone if you've never heard of the “no spend challenge”. Many of us are guilty of enjoying a few personal pleasures each paycheck. This challenge asks you to cut out some (or all) of your leisurely spending during the holidays.
Depending on your holiday budget, you can customize this challenge. Some people may only have to go a week without spending for themselves while others may keep it going all month long to meet their goals. This challenge will supply you with extra cash encouraging debt free purchases.
Compare Prices by Shopping Online
There are a variety of reasons we love shopping in stores, but comparing prices online gives you access to the best deals around. That doesn't mean you have to give up the fun associated with retail therapy. We just ask that you use technology to your financial advantage. For example, feel free to compare prices while shopping in store on your mobile phone.
Make A Plan to Tackle Debt
Get Organized
Many of us own a variety of credit cards but don’t know how to pay down debt efficiently. The first step is getting organized by assessing how much debt you owe. This will help you prioritize what cards need to be tackled first.
Change Spending Behavior
The first thing you can do in this process is STOP using credit cards. Cut them up. Most Americans use their credit cards as if it is free money and then become buried in debt payments that they can no longer afford. Start using cash or your debit card to make purchases. Only buy what you can afford in cash.
Make changes in your spending habits. Make temporary sacrifices such as eliminating your daily coffee shop or dining out. This is key to becoming debt free and building wealth. Once you are debt free and wealthy, you can have guilt free coffee from your favorite shop.
Prioritize Your Debts
We prefer the debt snowball. List all of your debts from smallest balance to largest balance. Make minimum payments on all debts except for the smallest. Pay that smallest debt off first by throwing as much money at this as possible, always making more than the minimum payment until it is gone. Then take that money you spent on the previous debt and move on to the next debt creating a debt snowball. Small victories create a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep going. Before you know it you will be debt free!
Reno Bookkeeping Services Here to Help
The concept of debt is a widespread phenomenon, but how you manage it is essential to your financial success. Let our Reno Bookkeeping team help guide you to financial prosperity. We help the Reno community become debt free with our one on one debt counseling.
Visit us online to see all the counseling services available to you or schedule a consultation with our team. Prosperity Concierge offers you the finest consulting services. Our goal is to help you create substantial wealth and fortune to empower you for many years.