When reading articles about personal finance, you will find lots of information about budgets and savings accounts. Budgeting is the mastermind plan behind turning your take home income into a way of life. When the budget is supported by a personal emergency savings account, credit cards and online payday loan applications are not an issue.
Credit cards are one of those things that you truly cannot do without. You may be able to afford everything you may possibly need and want with cash alone but without the use of credit cards your will never have good credit. The credit bureaus use credit card use to calculate credit scores. If your credit history shows no credit use, your score will have a negative effect. There you have it, credit cards are a must have so the sooner you learn to manage the debt, the smoother your finances run.
Very rarely will a person read a finance article which says that your finances will be in better shape if you use an online payday lender to make ends meet. Because of the fast turnaround nature of these loans, you probably never will see them as a front runner in good finance magazines. The high interest and two week payoff term is not smart finance sense. People who write these articles probably have never stood in the shoes of the millions of people who do apply online or at storefronts for a way to get make through to their next paycheck. The credit bureaus have no value to these loans as they are difficult to measure in credit history since they are only out for a short period of time. The only time they are placed into your credit history is after a collections agency obtains the default debt. That is anything but a positive effect.
When you create an emergency savings, you become your own fast cash lender. You get to use an interest free loan when you transfer much needed cash from the savings into the checking account. Take care of whatever money emergency is before you at no extra cost. Depending on your financial situation, the road to replace the money used could create new problems if not handled correctly. Some people need the added pressure of potential money failures in order to put money into the savings account. You have to treat your savings like you would any other lender. No slacking when putting money back into the account. Just because there are no late charges within your own savings, it doesn’t mean you should put off replacing the funds. Emergency money situations have no time line; you could turn around and have another money emergency at your feet tomorrow.
When using credit cards or direct payday loans for financial emergencies it is important to keep the debt under your control. As soon as you let debt control your finances, you will become more dependent on costly cash.
The beauty in having debt is that it is not a final financial death sentence. There are ways out of personal debt. Remember those magazines, newspapers or online articles you have read? There are many more like them out there which will offer you much needed tips and strategies to regain financial control. If you need some extra guided assistance, look to a friend or family member who has good personal practices. Check out a credit counselor if you want to keep your financial problems private. If you would like to put a plan in place to help your finances over the long run, take the next step and invest in a personal financial adviser.
Don’t give up on your finances. Find a way out of your situation and gain back the control you need to make your financial future bright and cheery.
