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Get a Grip of Your Finances 18/3/05Consumer debt is rising and during February and March of this year more people are late paying their bills that at any other time of the year. It is estimated that ‘delinquency rates’ practically double during this time of year. There are several explanations for this, overspending and indulging at Christmas has left some with a financial headache with large unpaid credit card bills. Over eager January sales shoppers who can’t resist saving money by buying goods at discounted prices, some even contest that poor weather has seen us indulge in over compensating with luxury goods for and around the home. February being a short month has seen some bills arrive ahead of schedule, making those March payments that little bit earlier. For this reason some consumers have merely forgotten to pay but more and more are unable to pay. If you find yourself in the latter position it is time to get a grip of those finances then we have a few suggestions that may alleviate some of the stress and worry from those situations. Paying your credit cards by direct debit, planning is essential if you are to achieve success and by committing yourself to pay a minimum proportion of your credit card bill is essential. If your card has taken a hammering over this festive period then ring and ask your credit card provider to temporarily increase your limit for three month until you regain some element of control is also advisable but only if your are disciplined enough to stick to your original plan. Prioritise your bills, this may sound obvious but some do pay bills in the order that the come through the letterbox. By prioritising you can effectively reduce the amount of total interest you pay and ultimately clear your debt and credit card bills. Transferring you credit card balance to a new provider offering 0% balance transfer can instantly benefit you by reducing your interest to zero for a fixed period of time. Finally if you want to check out how committed your are the do this quick calculation to test how stretched you really are. If your bills, loans, and credit card repayments are more than 20% of your take home pay then you are over stretching yourself. You should not include any secured loans (mortgage payments) when working out your total repayments each month.
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