I work full-time and would love some budgeting tips!
2006-11-27 14:35:01 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
If you have credit card or other consumer debt, get rid of that first. Concentrate on the one you owe the least and pay as much as you can on it. For example, if you have three credit cards and you owe $100, $350, and $500 on them, pay off the $100 totally if you can, or pay $50 and pay it off in two months. And if your minimum payment on the $350 card is $15, now you have $65 to pay on it, which means you can get it paid off in 5 months. And then you have that $65 to add to the minimum payment on the $500 debt. You see how that works.
Once you get those paid off, all the money that went toward that debt goes - guess where! - into savings for your new home!! If you have used some of the other budgeting tips above, you should be able to pay off any debt and add to savings much more quickly than in my illustration.
If you are really eager to learn how to become debt-free and get control of your finances, go here: http://daveramsey.com/ . You can listen to his radio show online FREE, and his book, "The Total Money Makeover", should be available at your local library. Better still, if he has a live event near where you live, GO! He is a fantastic entertainer in addition to being a great financial adviser. He will get you FIRED up and eager to get control of your life and your money.
2006-11-27 15:07:33 · answer #1 · answered by dreamweaver.629ok 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some of the other suggestions you got were very good. It's true, put as much as you possibly can away in a high-interest savings account every payday. (High interest accounts are mainly online, like Ing Direct) Then do stuff to make money in your spare time. My web site is below and you can see I have about 4 other things I do part time (I also have a full time job) which bring in extra income. Your family can participate, and even better if they have things they like to do that they could sell (knitting, sewing, crafts, etc) Get bright and think out of the box for ways to make extra cash. Like find stuff around the house you can part with and research how much you could get for them on eBay, and put them up for sale! You can make it a game to see how much you can put into savings every week! And always keep in mind, a buck is a buck, and it DOES add up fast, and you will get there in no time!
2006-11-27 22:49:12 · answer #2 · answered by mch 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Here's what we did...stop eating out and going to Starbucks...downsize your apartment...if you have a two bedroom, go to a one bedroom even if it means having beds in the livingroom (it's temporary), if you have car payments, sell your car(s) and get at least one "beater" car that is paid for. It's not easy!
2006-11-27 22:41:53 · answer #3 · answered by kehlygirl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am forty and wish I had started many years ago. Just start to CHIP away. Small amounts ad up FAST over time.
2006-11-27 22:39:15 · answer #4 · answered by New Millennium Minds 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋