The First Step To Successful Debt Management - Budgeting
Poor financial budgeting and planning is the more frequent reason why people end up getting into debt. Knowing when your money comes in on a weekly or monthly basis allows you to plan for the bills that then need to be paid. Having a clearly laid out income and expenditure can demonstrate to you and to creditors the exact position you are in.
If you are in a situation where more money is going out than is coming in, then this will give a clear indication to you and creditors where help is needed to help solve the problems. Speaking to most creditors and explaining the situation will allow them to be more sympathetic and offer solutions that will help you manage the problem better.
Most companies that lend money will make charges if you are late with payments. Credit cards, store cards, loans and mortgages all have fixed charges together with the possibility of charging extra interest when you are late. Stopping this situation will give the companies incentive to help you and help you avoid paying more than you need to.
Setting up a budget account will also help with making sure essential payments get made on time. This budget account can be set up with the same bank as you already hold accounts with and usually at no extra charge.
The idea is to have all essential direct payments for debts and bills come from this account. A simple transfer from your main account every time your income comes in to cover the budget account will ensure that these essentials are met with no problems.
This then means that the money left in your main account is easier to manage and control as you know all of the essentials are covered. You could even go as far as to put money by for the yearly bills such as car tax and insurance, Christmas and Birthday gifts and other regular expenditure so as not to get caught short when the time comes.