We will explore some practical tips and strategies for achieving financial stability, including paying off debt, reducing expenses, forming new habits, and tracking progress. By following these tips and committing to financial success, you can take control of your finances and achieve your goals.
You need to plan everything before your family and friends show up. You need to cook the perfect Thanksgiving recipes, arrange the table, or bring gifts for everyone. Even if you have already planned for these things, you may need to grab some last-minute meal ingredients, decorations, paper towels, or place cards for unexpected guests.
Don’t just buy whatever sparkles or looks good at first glance. Stick to the theme you have chosen. Even if your theme is just to be spooky, stick to that idea. You will buy less and may find other ways to produce the feeling or atmosphere you want to create. Some possible themes might be zombies, walking dead, ghosts, witches’ coven, blood and gore, spiders, Dracula, and so on.
Everyone should have a checking account, even if you are starting. It can be a great way to learn to manage your money, set a budget, and track where you spend every dollar. Of course, you will be able to deposit and withdraw money. Your employer may even make a direct deposit into your account on your pay dates.
Start by Setting Goals. People who set goals are remarkably more successful at anything than those that do not. They help assure success. Specific, measurable, and repeatable goals can help you accomplish a lot, fast. You can start by committing to pay off your lowest credit card debt in a certain time frame e.g., 6 months. Keep the card as closing the account will hurt your credit if you get the balance to zero. Just put it away, out of sight and not something you will use in the future.
Almost all of us have had some impact on our budgets in 2020. Review what happened and what you did to fix the problems that occurred. If you had a pre-existing budget track where you lost control. If you did not have one, set one up today. There are numerous resources in every community that are free and will help you set your budget if you are unsure what to do or where to start.
Using a video conferencing platform, you can invite your friends and their children to a virtual Halloween party and organize a virtual costume contest, pumpkin carving competition, and other fun activities you wish.
This method does not save you as much money but does result in quicker victories and gives you the confidence that you can take control of your debts. With this method, you pay off your debt, starting with the lowest balance debt first. You ignore the interest rate of the debt. You pay as much as you can to eliminate the debt completely, and starting with smaller debts enables you to do so. You will quickly gain confidence that you can do it again and again.
Americans say that finances and money are the biggest cause of stress in their lives. Yet, so many do not take steps to relieve that stress. COVID- 19 has increased this stress many times over with an estimated 30+ million people unemployed nationwide. That is the worst since the Great Depression.
Over 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past couple of months. In this unique and stressful pandemic time, it is imperative that you understand what benefits may be available to you and how to get them.
