For many working people in our current economic situation, it is hard to imagine being out of debt to begin with. So once you have achieved your goal and become debt free, how do you plan to stay that way for your long-term future? There are some simple things you can make sure to do in your monthly and everyday routines that will make it easy to stay debt free and financially stable. Many of them might seem so simple you will read them and say, “Why didn’t I already do that?”
1. Make Your Morning Coffee At Home:
It has become a social activity to go “get” coffee for our morning ritual instead of making it at home for many people. This seems like a convenience that comes at a low cost and tastes great, but those coffees add up day after day, and those savings will help you stay out of debt over time.
2. Set Up A Budget And Stick To It:
Now that you are making smart payments and no longer paying off debt. Set up a budget to pay your bills and other monthly expenses. Any extra money coming in on a monthly basis should be split up and put away into savings, investments and into an emergency fund. Once you know how much should be going to everything stick to your budget and you will be putting yourself in a very good situation for yourself.
3. Find Low Budget Activities To Do For Yourself And Your Family:
There are plenty of things you can do on a budget to keep yourself and your family entertained! Do some research and explore your town or city. See what your area has to offer, go explore your local parks and enjoy a hike or sight see in your local city. You can also go online and look for deals on local activities that will help with the budget.
4. Make Sure You Have An Emergency Fund:
Saving for emergencies is really important in general, but when it comes to staying out of debt it is probably one of the biggest key factors you can have. Making sure you are prepared for large unexpected costs will allow you to cover them without having to put them on credit, pay them off slowly or go without paying. No one expects to have last minute medical bills that insurance doesn’t cover, or an incident in their home that costs an arm and a leg, but you always want to be prepared to pay for whatever you need to without having to break the bank or go into debt trying to keep up. Part of your new budget should be to put a specific amount of money away into an account that is never touched under any circumstances unless it is an emergency and you absolutely have no other choice. You will thank yourself for not using the money on that girls’ night out when your boiler breaks and you can pay for the repairs you need!
5. Save Raises and Extra Unexpected Money:
Getting a raise or unexpected check can be very exciting, but instead of giving the spending portion of your budget a raise, give it to the savings portion. The more you can put into your savings and emergency fund, the better off you will be, when you have a substantial amount of money in your savings and emergency accounts.
6. Avoid Unnecessary fees:
Be very aware of unnecessary fees as you pay your bills, take out money and make purchases. Make your payments on time to avoid late fees, try to use ATM machines that don’t charge a fee for taking out cash and make purchases that don’t charge too many extra fees. Also look out for stores that give out discount for cash purchases. If you are purchasing items online, go with the lowest shipping cost and look for coupons to cut the cost of online purchases. Making these small changes will make it much easier to stay out of debt and keep you in a great place financially.