Scrunch, Save, Spend
Most people who fall into a payday loan trap are there mainly because they are unable to keep their finances under control. Agreed, sometimes emergencies do arise and you need money immediately. But that’s exactly the point — that we don’t have money when we need it most. So what can you do to ensure that you do have money when you need it most? Penny –pinch. Yes, it isn’t such a bad thing, and it’s something that was taken for granted a few generations back. It’s only today that we need to buy everything off the supermarket shelf. But if we honestly sit down and try to see where we can cut our expenses, we’ll see that there are quite a few expenses that can be trimmed away.
One of the biggest money savers is your house and car. Keep your present and future earning potential in mind when you purchase a home or vehicle. It’s all well to want that SUV, but see if your finances can handle these gas-guzzling behemoths before you go in for one. Once you’ve worked around the big expenses, you can start maximizing your saving effectiveness by starting to save on some of the smaller expenses.
Look around your home and take inventory of items that you paid too much for, items you purchased that you didn’t really need, and maybe even broken or non-functioning items which are costing you money in repairs or upkeep. Make an inventory of these items and see if you can dispose them — a garage sale maybe. Then there are the simpler tips, ones that may not save you a lot of money at one go, but by diligently saving over a period of time, you could have a neat little nest egg.