Deciding to borrow money is never an easy decision. Though it’s a necessity today, taking out a personal loan online still comes with a stigma that suggests you aren’t responsible with your money. In most cases, that can’t be further from the truth.
Just because you don’t have all the cash you need to cover your doctor’s visit, auto repair, or the necessary renovation doesn’t mean you’ve been spending your money unwisely. Modern life is expensive, even if you budget each dollar carefully.
At least you’re used to it. A well-crafted financial plan is a great way to stay on top of your loan repayments. It itemizes your income and expenses in black and white figures, so you can determine where you need to stop spending to cover those loan payments.
But your budget isn’t the only way you can support your borrowing experience. The following money-saving tips can help shave off extra spending in surprising ways, so you can pay back your online loans faster.
Rethink How You Pay Bills
If you’re like most people, you pay off your bills as soon as payday hits. All the cash from that one paycheck goes into paying off your rent, cell phone bill, and any other recurring expense. These responsibilities can eat through your check quickly, leaving you with nothing left over until next payday. If something were to come up between now and then, you’ll have no cash to cover it.
Rather than assigning one paycheck to cover all your expenses for the month, reorganize the way you manage your money. Most people get paid bi-weekly, while bills like rent and utilities come at the start of each month. If you can count yourself among them, then set aside a part of each paycheck towards your monthly responsibilities.
These contributions don’t have to cover the entirety of your bills. There’s that second paycheck coming to help out, after all. You should, however, make sure your total contributions will cover the minimum payments on your cash loans, credit cards, and expenses.
Automate Bill Payments
Piggybacking on the last point, you’ll want to automate your regular bill payments to save you time, money, and effort. When you make your landlord, your car dealership and your cellphone carrier authorized payees, you can set your bank account to make these payments automatically. Not only will you save some time when you aren’t manually paying your bills each month, but you’ll also avoid late fees and interest if you have a habit of forgetting due dates.
You can pre-authorize payments to any credit card company or direct lender you borrow from. Though the individual steps will be different for each bank, linking these payments should be easy. Some lenders, including MoneyKey, make it even simpler by hosting most of their services online, so it’s a simple matter of providing an account at the start of your application.
Delay Gratification
Even the most financially frugal individual isn’t entirely immune to temptation. Whether it’s buying Drake’s record-breaking album More Life for yourself or splurging on the holidays to make sure everyone on your list is spoiled rotten, we all have our own kryptonite that makes it difficult to stay on budget.
Prevent impulse spending from ruining your attempts at saving money by employing the 30-Day Rule on any of these last-minute purchases. At any time you feel the need to buy something you haven’t budgeted for, just wait 30 days and consider the purchase carefully.
Thirty days is long enough to disrupt the power these objects have over you, making it easier to say no to purchase compared to when you’re first tempted by it. If, even after 30 days, you think it’s important to have that download or sneaker, then make the purchase.
Bring a List to the Grocery Store
You don’t actually have to write this out on a scrap piece of paper if you prefer to go digital. There are a variety of apps that help you design a penny-wise list that also hooks you up with the week’s coupons.
The method isn’t important as long as you stick to it. A list forces you to think about what your kitchen needs, so you’re more likely to make a meal plan. Meal planning isn’t just for those looking to lose weight or buff up, by the way; it can help you keep your food costs low even around holiday feast when you model yours with the help of these apps. It also prevents you from placing unnecessary snacks into your cart as you walk past aisles that don’t offer the things you need.
Simple changes to your habits can have profound effects on your budget. If you do it right, you might just save enough money to help pay off your loan before the specified due date. Even if it doesn’t help to pay back your cash advance early, these helpful tips can help you later on, potentially eliminating the need for a loan in the future. So take advantage of these tips listed here and brainstorm your own!
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