Do your expenses outweigh your income? Here are some balancing options that may work for you:
$ Increase Income – this may mean a new or a second job for a family member(s). More education or training may increase earning power down the road. Brainstorm ideas with your family.
$ Reduce Expenses – this option often can make the quickest and largest impact to your spending plan. As you review your expenses, consider whether it is a need, want or desire. A need is something you must have to live your daily life. A want is a way to meet these needs with more style, comfort or ease. A desire is something you wish you had but it does not fulfill any basic need. Cutting back on ‘desire’ spending can free up money to pay for needs and wants. If that doesn’t help, wants may have to give way to basic needs.
Study where your money is going. Where can you cut back? What can you do differently that will have the biggest pay off?
$ Adjust debt payments. Consider negotiating lower interest rates or a temporary suspension of your interest rate, or consider negotiating lower payments with your creditor. A note of warning: do not make any adjustments unless you have it in writing that your creditor agrees; in the long run, these choices will cost you more.
$ Sometimes a combination of two from above works best. Small changes in each option may work better than trying to make up the difference through one single option. That is when spending plans do not work.
