Tag Archives: budget
Rebuilding Your Life After Bankruptcy; Don't Cave To Holiday Pressures! (Page 1 of 3)
There’s something about shopping during the holidays as I watch consumers being attacked by exuberant cashiers pushing their store’s credit card that gets me concerned for those trying to build a solid life after bankruptcy.
These clerks seem to be unaware of how careful individuals have been all year to build their life after bankruptcy; by watching what they spend, and how easy it is to go over budget. Offering a ¡°credit rebuilder¡± a new card is like offering a recovering chocoholic a gooey double-fudge brownie supreme.
The holidays bring about mixed feelings among my clients: joy, anxiety, fear, sadness¡.not any of it relating to the reason for the season.
Rebuilding your credit and creating the life after bankruptcy that you desire is a difficult tightrope balance between moving forward with your life and not ruining the upward progress of your credit score.
Holidays mean gift-giving gatherings with sometimes hundreds of people, if you total them all up. Pressure rises when the office party committee asks us to pitch in for gifts for management.
Your head starts spinning when you think about how your extended family has grown and how they will all exchange presents Christmas Eve at your house this year. You finally feel the wind knocked out of your sails when the cashier tells you that you can save up to 25% on your purchase if you apply for their wonderful store credit card.
Just remember and keep this thought at the front of your mind…creating the desirable life after bankruptcy is the objective, not the savings of 25% that is surely to be out of our original budget anyway.
As someone who has recently discharged a bankruptcy and is trying to rebuild life after bankruptcy as well as create a high credit rating, should you respond to such a sweet, seductive offer? (Twenty-five percent off purchases, after all, would give you the extra money to buy Aunt Millie that deluxe food steamer!)
But here’s what I teach as a financial counselor from Credit Is Key: though it is much easier said than done, do NOT apply for any credit cards during the holiday crunch.
Every financial move should be the result of planning and preparation for your life after bankruptcy – not suddenly caving in to pacify the salesclerk – or Aunt Millie. If you say ¡°yes,¡± then the store will make an inquiry on your credit.
Did you know that even a couple inquiries will actually hurt your credit?
Rebuilding your life after bankruptcy requires inner strength. A strength you have been nurturing and growing since your discharge. A strength that is given a boost by having a specific goal in mind and a planned strategy in place; building a wonderful credit rating to enjoy your life after bankruptcy. Help yourself! Instead of falling into the ¡°get-a-credit- card-and-reduce-your-spending¡± trap, try these ideas for holiday savings — without inquiries or damaging rejections. Always remember the objective…improve your life after bankruptcy by improving your credit rating!
How to keep a check on your purchases
Holidays are time to relax and have fun with family and friends. To make sure that it remains a memorable one, it is imperative to ensure that the trip is enjoyed in set budget. Usually it happens that the combination of entertainment, gifts and traveling can lead to huge expenditures. One has to be disciplined when personal finance budget has to be planned as it is one of the essential components for people seeking financial freedom.
To ensure that the budget remains under control while holidaying, it is necessary to keep check on your purchases. Before heading for your holidays, make sure that all family members are aware of the cost cognizance approach to be followed so that extra expenses and over budget can be avoided. Expenses with children can be even more while holidaying thus it is essential for you to make your kids aware about the plans for spending limited so that at the end of the year over expenditure can be avoided.
Planning before leaving for a holiday is considered to be one of the best ways for looking down necessary expenses. Making a list of possible gifts that have to be purchased is a must as unnecessary spending on impulse purchases can over exceed your budget.
It is also considered essential to invest some time for making plans to save money while holidaying so that over budget can be avoided. Making purchases after finding best deals is one of the finest ways that can be done possibly by searching.
Setting the limit can also be helpful in keeping a track on the money that has to be spent for purchasing goods and gifts while holidaying. It is considered to be one of the best ways to keep the money that is spent under control as there is a set limit for spending the money.
You can also opt for gift cards but it is extremely essential to be smart while making use of gift cards. Gift cards have been gaining popularity and are also are widely available thus it is essential for you to understand the terms that are associated with the usage of gift cards for avoiding any kind of losses at the time of making a purchase.
While holidaying and keeping a check on your budget, it is also essential to shop early as with shopping done timely, you can get more chances to find items that you want and that too at a fair and reasonable price. Last minute shopping must be avoided as it can make you even more than what you had planned more particularly if you had planned to buy specific items.
While making purchases, it is also considered essential to consider various bargain offers that are made available at shopping stores and shopping malls. Though making purchases for packages and gifts take most of the time of vacation, one must make sure that you spend quality time with your family and friends in order to have maximum enjoyment while holidaying.