When you are carrying the burden of credit card debt, it weighs on your mind as well as your heart. Some people take the long and hard road of paying off their debt over the course of decades by taking on a second or third job and saving. Fortunately, with credit counseling, you can learn ethical ways to get rid of debt faster while meeting your obligations. According to an article by credit.com, there are several ways you can trick yourself into saving more money. One of the most successful tricks is to automate your savings, credit.com reports. In addition to automating your saving, you can also automate your debt repayment strategy.
Setting up bill pay
Through credit counseling, you gain insights into how to better budget so you have money leftover after paying your bills. When it comes to making those payments, one thing that helps is to set up automatic bill pay. The key is to just make sure you have enough money in your account to cover everything. After you agree to a Debt Management Plan, you will have one monthly bill to pay that satisfies your credit card debt. With an Automatic Pay System, debt consolidation couldn’t be any easier.
Implementing a waiting period
Another trick to help you spend less money is to give yourself a waiting period before you make a major purchase. According to credit.com, five days is a good amount of time to wait before buying something unnecessary. After waiting five days, you might decide you can live without the item. Instead of spending money on impulse purchases, set the money aside for emergencies.
Paying with cash
Some financial experts recommend living a cash-only lifestyle. The problem is some people are more forgetful than others. If you lose you cash, it is not replaced the same way as a debit card. At the same time, many people do spend less when using cash because they feel pain associated with giving it up. With a credit card, you just don’t associate swiping the card with the loss of real, tangible money.
Pretending you didn’t get a windfall
When you receive credit counseling, you will likely feel more motivated to improve your money habits. One of the best money habits you can have is save and invest. Whether it’s a tax refund, inheritance or pay bonus, learn to put money in a savings account or a Roth IRA retirement account.
At Christian Credit Counselors, we dedicate ourselves to helping ordinary people get out of debt with ease. By consolidating your credit card debt and agreeing to a Debt Management Plan, you’ll end up paying a lot less money in interest and late charges.
Do you want to know more about debt and how you can make smart financial decisions now that will help you secure a more prosperous financial future? Sign up for our newsletter for monthly money tips.
