Create a budget
Locking in a realistic budget can be tricky. Thankfully, the internet offers a few good budgeting tools like Mint.com or BudgetTracker.com. The big hurdle is focusing on your hopes and dreams in 2016. Keep in mind, you are setting goals based on where you’d like to live, work, whether or not to have children, how you’ll feed those children (if you’re not already a parent), and how you’ll want to spend your down time (for example, entertainment). Sure it may take some time to work out the kinks, but a working budget is better than no budget at all.
Pay off debt
Remember, this will tie in with your financial plan. Start by paying off one bill at a time. This, of course, means you’ll have to work in a “number” each month for debt in your budget. You should reevaluate this amount at the end of each month and see if you meet your goal and if not, why not? Make adjustments as you go.
Spend less
Enlist each member in your family to come up with ideas that will help cut back as a household. Here are a few of our suggestions:
– Try couponing. There are several online. Not to mention local coupons still come in the mail. Not big on paper coupons? Groupon, which garners more than 30 million visitors per month, offers deals on everything from date nights to family vacations to electronics. Scoutmob and LivingSocial are also great apps for nabbing insane deals.
– Do away with credit cards. Choose just one to build your credit. Pay off the full balance each billing cycle and watch your credit score rise. Consistency is key.
