A lot of people today live paycheck to paycheck.  That is not something we feel happy about, yet we chose our lifestyle.  We all know about debt, and how dangerous it is, but to make sure we never add to that statistic it is important that we create a budget for ourselves.  Creating a budget will help us save money, show us where our money really disappears, and will allow us to set the right amount of money aside for bills.  If you’re looking to start saving more money and to start spending more wisely, consider a few of these tips!

How much do you make? – First of all, you’re going to want to sit down, and think about how much you make each month.  Come up with an average that you could say you’ve made in the last couple months.  When you have this all figured out, write down that number.

How much do my bills cost? – Now really brainstorm.  How much are your bills each month?  Think about every single one that you can’t change like cell phone, mortgage, car payment etc.  Once you have all those figured out, come up with a total on how much you pay.

Now, take a total of all the bills that you control like gas for your car, electric, groceries, etc.  Find out what your total is for both of these, and see how much you can save if you really cut back.

How much is left over? – From how much you make each month how much of it goes to bills?  Then how much do you have left over?  Keep some money for leisure, but try to have cost free hobbies to keep yourself entertained.

Did I save 10%? – From how much is left over, are you still able to save 10%?  If so, that’s great!  If not, try to figure out a way to lower your bills so you can start saving more for the future.

The whole point of budget planning is to see what you spend most of your money on, how much you have to play with, and to make sure we’re at least saving 10% each month.  If you can do that, you’re in a great position!

When we get a credit card, we hope that we can get a great credit score.  When we have a good credit score, we often qualify for good loans when we need them, and we can show and prove to companies that we know how to pay the bills, and that we’re responsible.

There are several ways you can create a good credit score, and improve the score you have now.  By simply paying your credit card balance in full each month, not going over your credit limit, and by paying your bills on time each month will help you earn a good credit score.

So, you may already have some credit built up by now.  How do we determine where we stand, and whether or not we have a good credit score?Continue to read below, and figure out where you stand when it comes to credit.

What does my credit mean?

720-849 - As you can see, this is the best credit you can get.  When you have a credit score this good, you’ll usually get the lenders best rates!

660-720 – Although this isn’t known to be perfect credit, it is still good credit.  You will still be able to find good loans, just not the absolute best.

600-660 – This credit score range isn’t necessarily “bad”, it’s just not “good”.  If you can, boost your credit score, that way you still receive better rates for loans!

Below 600 – Okay, if you’ve reached this score you’re in the poor range.  This also means you’re a “sub prime” borrower.  The good news is that there are more “sub prime” borrowers out there now then ever before.  You won’t get the best loan rates, but you will usually pay about 3% more than someone with perfect credit.

Having good credit is a great thing.  Loaners will know that you’re responsible, they will approve you for much more, allow you the best rates on loans, and will offer you more than someone with poor credit.

A lot of people love to go shopping, look around, and buy what they want most.  It’s simple, we want what we see, so we buy it.  Well, most people anyway.  When people buy things they want, it makes them feel good, makes them happy, and of course they are satisfied with their new purchase.  Although, how many things does it take for a person to get into debt?  Not a lot at all.  Everything from buying a house, to the little things we want here and there are enough to put us far enough in debt.  We know that debt comes from buying too many expensive things, but what makes us buy them?

Brands – Today everyone is all about the brand names.  This goes from shopping at the grocery store and picking out a bag of chips because of the “popular brand name”, to the clothes we wear.  What is the difference between a polo from Walmart to a polo from Abercrombie and Fitch with the moose on it?  Are we really paying for that tiny logo?

Top of the line – Also, everyone seems to want the “top of the line” things.  We can’t drive around a car that isn’t expensive.  Instead, we want to make sure we drive the Lexus, Land Rover or one of the most expensive vehicles on the market around so everyone can see.  Although, who really pays attention to that?

Items to show – We also want items to show.  Buying a little house is “nothing” compared to a large house with a huge mortgage payment each month.  It isn’t even about being practical, it’s all about the looks and how big houses can be these days.  A house is one of the most expensive things you can buy, so make sure it’s ideal, and most importantly affordable!

Think they can - So, maybe someone has a really good job, and gets paid a lot.  They go all out, buy what they want, drive a nice car, and money isn’t an issue, until they loose their job.  You always have to prepare for the worst, there are no promises when it comes to jobs!

No back up – If you were to ask everyone what they’d do if they lost their job today, they wouldn’t know what to do.  Although, if you would have saved up money each month, at least 10% of your paycheck and put it in a savings account or money market, you would be in a better situation.  It is always important to save for the worst case scenario!

Almost everyone has some kind of debt, and that’s normal.  Although, when you get too far into debt it’s hard to get back out.  Make sure you watch how you spend your money, and you always prepare for the worst.  If you can handle doing these few things, you should be just fine.

When we have a lot of credit card debt, it is something we feel horrible about.  We wonder how we got into this situation to begin with, and if we’re ever going to get out of it.  If you’re suffering from credit card debt, you know how awful the interest rates can be.  We finally start to make higher payments on our balance, yet the interest rates diminish what we’re paying, and raise the balance again.  It is almost impossible to pay off a credit card when you’re paying the minimum payment and when you have high interest rates. 

If you’ve considered transferring your credit card debt to a 0% interest card, that is a great place to start.  When we don’t have interest rates, we are much more capable of paying off our bills faster.  Although, when you look to find a 0% interest card there are a few things you need to pay attention to.  What should you look out for?

• Be sure you are positive when it comes to how long the 0% plays a role.  You don’t want to be confused with this, it may end up hurting you even more.  So, be sure to you know how long you have 0% for.
• Consider a schedule for yourself.  Know when you need to have the money by, and set it aside so you can make sure you pay it.
• Make sure you are can pay off your balance within this introductory period, otherwise high interest rates can kick in when the period ends leaving you back where you started.
• Make sure you find out about any fees there may be.  You don’t want to allow this money to be taken away from you, when you were going to pay off your next payment.  There can be some surprises along the way to be prepared for them.

Transferring your credit card balance is a great thing.  This is ideal for anyone in credit card debt that is looking to just try and diminish or completely get rid of it fast.  Although, before you do anything, and agree to anything, be sure to consider the tips listed above.

It is an awful feeling knowing you have never ending credit card debt.  It seems like when we’re almost done paying the credit card off, we’re back to where we started.  It is always in the back of our head, and we can’t get over the fact that we’re paying even more when you add in interest rates.  Credit cards can be very dangerous if you don’t use them wisely.  For people who are in heavy credit card debt, there is a solution.  It may take a while to pay off your credit cards, but how does interest free sound?

What if you could have 0% interest on your credit card debt?  Well now you can!  You can transfer the balance on your credit card to a credit card with 0% APR.  This will allow all the money you put towards your payments to lower your balance.  There will be no chance that interest will take an affect.  When you have no interest rates attached, your bills will go down much quicker, allowing you to finally get rid or reduce your credit card debt tremendously.

When you’re payments are getting smaller, and your balance is lowing, this can help out your credit score and credit-to-debt ratio tremendously.  When both of these improve, you’ll be in much better hands, and lenders will more likely to consider you.

So, if you’re in a great amount of credit card debt, and you’re looking for solutions, definitely consider this option.  It is there to help you, will help you lower your bills, and you can guarantee that no interest will be tacked on.  This is a great way to say good bye to credit card debt, and is something everyone with credit card debt should really consider.  It may only last for a certain amount of time, but some time is better than none right?