livingdebtfree

Around town there are so many of these Pay Day Loan and “Get Your Paycheck Early” Advanced check businesses. But is it really a pay day?  I remember when I worked for a company and their customers would call in needing to make a payment. I would hear over and over about them having these Payday loans services that would basically taking out extravagant funds out of their checking accounts. They would take all of their money and prevented them from paying others bills which in turn made them late on their bills.  I watched a story on the ABC Evening News about a woman who had about 4 of these pay day loans out costing her over $3000-$5000 which I believe are several paychecks for her.  I remember at one time I had thought about trying those pay day loans however the high fees and interest rates turned it into an option that I could not do and I am glad that I did not do it. It would have been even more disastrous.  So this woman now is struggling severely with paying her bills and along with these huge pay day advance loans too.

So all in all I would say that if you really need to do these type of payday loan advances then really do consider the pros and cons of doing this option. Make sure that you only do it once and when it is time to pay for the loan, pay it off right away as time goes on the interest will continue to build.  I would say that is like a horrible credit card.  So find ways to bring in a little extra income or build an emergency fund account.

Do you have a plan to get out of debt?  A plan is important as this will help to stay on track and complete all of the tasks that you have set out to do.  I read in Dave Ramsey’s books he has a wonderful method of planning such as the “snowball” method.  This consists of listing all of your debts, starting with the smallest debts first, and focus on paying them off in that order.  This will give you a great sense of relief and you will also feel successful at the same time.  Also the positive feelings of affirmation of getting over debt much quicker than you were expecting.  It will help you to continue with handling paying off debt.

When I look at myself and why I have continued to be in debt on a regular basis I had to take a look at my past to find out what happened to me.  I remembered that when I received my allowance I would save it regularly and I remember taking it to school and it got stolen.  I had planned on buying my mother something special for Mother’s Day.  I should have left the money with her but I was afraid she would spend it hehe.  I laugh about it now as she never would not do that sort of thing.  I remember spending time with childhood friends, who would get money from their grandparents, and their parents spent it on clothes for the child and groceries. So when it came time for my classmate to want to use the money to spend on something that they desired they would ask for it, and their parents would say? Oh I will pay you back this weekend, I had to use your money to buy food for the family.  So I see where I got that in my mind. From after that incident I have been spending money and not saving it as I feared it would be stolen.  Although money can be stolen, it is a loss too when you can’t find your wallet, or left your purse somewhere and you come back and it gone.  It feels as if you are being invaded personally and financially.

Have you ever had anything of your stolen?  How did you feel?
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If you find that you are not watching much television this summer, then consider canceling the cable or dish service for the summertime.  This can save you a tremendously amount of money and can be used to help pay for bills.  If you feel that you need to have your cable or dish service then consider going to a lower package rate as this is another way to save money on your bills. Ask your cable company about an “A La Carte” packaging plan where you are able to choose the channels that you would prefer to have in your plan and watch the most.

I have learned that I will need to consolidate any other loans together so that I will be able to pay them in one easy payment. Create a financial plan that lists out the expenses that you have in its entirety so that you will be able to see how much those are such as groceries, gasoline, etc.   If I find that I have some extra money then I will use that money to pay off my student loans.  Extra cash is always a great thing but keep in mind to use it wisely. 

One my biggest concerns about finishing school is the high rate of student loans that I have accumulated over time and I do have a complete of how much it will all be when I finish school in the next few months. however I do have a estimate of how much it will be and I wonder to myself in my condition how I am ever going to be able to pay for this?  I would love to be able to just go, and obtain a full-time job however due to health challenges that is definitely not a possibility.