Become Financially Stable in 2010!

Honestly I’m not big on resolutions at the first of the year. I like to reflect and adjust throughout the year as necessary but with only 5 days left in 2009 I thought it appropriate to talk about one really important resolution that I made back in January. I decided to get financially fit in 2009.

I have to be honest and say that this wasn’t something I decided in December of ’08 this actually came to me when I totaled my car in January of ’09. I was in a terrible rollover accident and walked away with a small scratch on my pinky finger that I couldn’t even see the next day….Praise God!! But the one thing I didn’t walk away with was my car.

I needed to make a decision, was I going to run out and purchase another car and start yet another payment plan? Or should I suck it up and take the two buses that it takes me to get to work everyday and pay off some of this crazy debt that I have? Well anyone that knows me knows that I would much rather drive then take public transportation unless it is really convenient and my commute from home to work on the bus is not convenient! But as I have mentioned in many of my blogs....in this journey of learning how to love myself first I realized that getting me out of debt would be worth the sacrifice and inconvenience. So I committed to paying off all of my debt on February 1st, 2009 and through a lot of readjusting and budgeting I will be out of debt (except for a student loan) by February 28th, 2010!!!

This is huge for me because I have had debt since I was 17 years old and I’m about to be 46. I’m excited and can not wait for the end of February because this is something that I really put my mind to and was determined to succeed. I now know that I can truly live off of a certain amount and still enjoy life; I just had to make the adjustments.

We are still in very uncertain times despite experts claiming that we are out of the recession. Are you financially stable? If not maybe you should think about making that your resolution. Below are a couple of links to some articles that talk about tips in getting debt free. I’m going to list a couple that I actually did and they worked!

1. Set a reasonable timeline that you can live by!! Remember it took several years for you to run up your debt don’t expect it to go away overnight.

2. Create a realistic monthly budget for your expenses. List all monthly bills and necessities and make sure they are covered by your monthly income. Allow only the money remaining after the bills are paid to be spent elsewhere. Stay within your budget guidelines

3. Learn to use cash instead of credit cards. Have one primary credit card and use it only for emergencies or major necessities, such as a new refrigerator if the current one stops working. Put your credit card in a safe place, not available for everyday use. Also, do not accept increases on your credit card limit above an amount you can easily pay off in three months.

4. Contact your creditors and try to work out repayment plans. Many creditors are willing to work with you in a manner that will help them get their money without having to resort to debt collectors.

Click below to get additional tips!
http://www.allbusiness.com/personal-finance/credit-cards-credit-card-debt/2442-1.html

http://www.bizymoms.com/debt/free-debt-help.html

2010 is all about getting YOU together so you can help others! Have a blessed and safe New Year!

Stiletto,
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women