BUDGETING
During a counseling session, you and your counselor will go over your current budget, including any money owed such as debt from credit cards, medical bills, student loans, car loans and all others. Afterwards, you will receive a written summary including an action plan to move forward. You are under no obligation to take any of the debt advice or recommended credit management steps. Your counseling session is completely confidential. We do not report the information to your creditors or your credit report.
Budgeting lies at the foundation of every financial plan. It doesn’t matter if you’re living paycheck to paycheck or earning six-figures a year, you need to know where your money is going if you want to have a handle on your finances. Unlike what you might believe, budgeting isn’t all about restricting what you spend money on and cutting out all the fun in your life. It’s really about understanding how much money you have, where it goes, and then planning how to best allocate those funds. Here’s everything you need to help you create and maintain a budget.
Budgeting Basics
Do you know why a budget is so important? On the surface it seems like creating a budget is just a tedious financial exercise, especially if you feel your finances are already in good order. But you might be surprised at just how valuable a budget can be. A good budget can help keep your spending on track and even uncover some hidden cash flow problems that might free up even more money to put toward your other financial goals.
How to Create a Budget
The hardest part of creating a budget is sitting down and actually creating one. This is where Free My Debt will sit with you to help you work out a comfortable budget that allows you to live within your means. Don’t worry--I’ve broken down the budget creation process into a few easy to follow steps.
Traits for Budgeting Success
Once we work together to create your budget, it’s time to make sure you follow it. Budgeting can be like going on a diet—you start with good intentions, but after a few weeks or months you drift away from your plan. Don’t let that happen to you. Here are a few basic traits that will ensure budgeting success.
Basic Budget Worksheet
If you’re having difficulty coming up with all of the various expense categories for your budget, I’ve created a budget worksheet that can help you organize everything. This worksheet has the most common expenses and can help you keep track of everything in an orderly fashion.
How Overspending Breaks Your Budget
The main reason to create a budget is to help you keep your finances under control by keeping track of how much money you’re spending and where it goes. When you begin to stray from your budget it’s usually because of spending too much money somewhere. But if you have a budget that tells you exactly how much you’re supposed to spend, why is it so easy to overspend? There are a number of reasons we overspend, so when you understand what causes overspending, you can help put a stop to it and keep your budget on track.
Try Using Cash to Keep Spending Under Control
Swiping plastic has become incredibly easy. With both credit cards and debit cards, we can be in and out with a purchase in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, this convenience comes at a cost. By using plastic we can begin to lose track of how much money is actually being spent. Sure, two dollars here, 4 dollars there, it doesn't seem like much at the time of purchase, but if you aren’t careful they can really add up and bust your budget. One trick to help keep your daily spending under control is to use cash instead of your credit or debit cards. It might not be as fast, but it helps you visualize just how much money you’re actually spending.
Budgeting lies at the foundation of every financial plan. It doesn’t matter if you’re living paycheck to paycheck or earning six-figures a year, you need to know where your money is going if you want to have a handle on your finances. Unlike what you might believe, budgeting isn’t all about restricting what you spend money on and cutting out all the fun in your life. It’s really about understanding how much money you have, where it goes, and then planning how to best allocate those funds. Here’s everything you need to help you create and maintain a budget.
Budgeting Basics
Do you know why a budget is so important? On the surface it seems like creating a budget is just a tedious financial exercise, especially if you feel your finances are already in good order. But you might be surprised at just how valuable a budget can be. A good budget can help keep your spending on track and even uncover some hidden cash flow problems that might free up even more money to put toward your other financial goals.
How to Create a Budget
The hardest part of creating a budget is sitting down and actually creating one. This is where Free My Debt will sit with you to help you work out a comfortable budget that allows you to live within your means. Don’t worry--I’ve broken down the budget creation process into a few easy to follow steps.
Traits for Budgeting Success
Once we work together to create your budget, it’s time to make sure you follow it. Budgeting can be like going on a diet—you start with good intentions, but after a few weeks or months you drift away from your plan. Don’t let that happen to you. Here are a few basic traits that will ensure budgeting success.
Basic Budget Worksheet
If you’re having difficulty coming up with all of the various expense categories for your budget, I’ve created a budget worksheet that can help you organize everything. This worksheet has the most common expenses and can help you keep track of everything in an orderly fashion.
How Overspending Breaks Your Budget
The main reason to create a budget is to help you keep your finances under control by keeping track of how much money you’re spending and where it goes. When you begin to stray from your budget it’s usually because of spending too much money somewhere. But if you have a budget that tells you exactly how much you’re supposed to spend, why is it so easy to overspend? There are a number of reasons we overspend, so when you understand what causes overspending, you can help put a stop to it and keep your budget on track.
Try Using Cash to Keep Spending Under Control
Swiping plastic has become incredibly easy. With both credit cards and debit cards, we can be in and out with a purchase in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, this convenience comes at a cost. By using plastic we can begin to lose track of how much money is actually being spent. Sure, two dollars here, 4 dollars there, it doesn't seem like much at the time of purchase, but if you aren’t careful they can really add up and bust your budget. One trick to help keep your daily spending under control is to use cash instead of your credit or debit cards. It might not be as fast, but it helps you visualize just how much money you’re actually spending.
CREDIT COUNSELING
Credit counseling is a process that involves offering education to consumers about how to avoid incurring debts that cannot be repaid through establishing an effective Debt Management Plan and Budget. Credit counseling is usually less typified by functions of credit education or the psychology of spending habits, rather credit counseling establishes a planned method of debt relief, typically through a Debt Management Plan.
Credit counseling often involves negotiating with creditors to establish a debt management plan (DMP) for a consumer. A DMP may help the debtor repay his or her debt by working out a repayment plan with the creditor. DMPs, set up by credit counselors, usually offer reduced payments, fees and interest rates to the client. Credit counselors refer to the terms dictated by the creditors to determine payments or interest reductions offered to consumers in a debt management plan.
The demand for credit counseling has increased with the recent requirement for individuals filing bankruptcy to receive credit counseling before being eligible to file for bankruptcy. As individuals seek to relieve their financial obligations through bankruptcy, they are thrust into the world of credit counseling. While this may seem like a burdensome step you must take before filing for bankruptcy, credit counseling offers many benefits that may help you on the road to financial freedom.
Credit counseling is a service where you can receive advice about your current financial situation and discuss ways to improve your financial future. Free counseling agencies should not only be able to talk to you about bankruptcy, but various other options you have available to you such as consolidating your debt into one monthly payment. Debt consolidation may be misleading in some instances as some credit counseling agencies advertise that they can reduce your monthly payment. This is not always possible as not all of your creditors may be willing to participate in the repayment program developed by the credit counseling agency.
Free My Debt is here to help individuals that are overwhelmed by debt. We are able to help individuals develop a plan to pay off their unsecured debt such as credit card debt. Secured debt and other types of debt, such as child support and student loans, are generally not included in credit counseling repayment plans.
Free My Debt is not able to tell you about bankruptcy or other options for getting out of debt, but we provide you with a great bankruptcy counseling agent if you really need to file for bankruptcy. In addition, Free My Debt may be able to help you develop a budget that will help you learn to live within your means.
Credit counseling often involves negotiating with creditors to establish a debt management plan (DMP) for a consumer. A DMP may help the debtor repay his or her debt by working out a repayment plan with the creditor. DMPs, set up by credit counselors, usually offer reduced payments, fees and interest rates to the client. Credit counselors refer to the terms dictated by the creditors to determine payments or interest reductions offered to consumers in a debt management plan.
The demand for credit counseling has increased with the recent requirement for individuals filing bankruptcy to receive credit counseling before being eligible to file for bankruptcy. As individuals seek to relieve their financial obligations through bankruptcy, they are thrust into the world of credit counseling. While this may seem like a burdensome step you must take before filing for bankruptcy, credit counseling offers many benefits that may help you on the road to financial freedom.
Credit counseling is a service where you can receive advice about your current financial situation and discuss ways to improve your financial future. Free counseling agencies should not only be able to talk to you about bankruptcy, but various other options you have available to you such as consolidating your debt into one monthly payment. Debt consolidation may be misleading in some instances as some credit counseling agencies advertise that they can reduce your monthly payment. This is not always possible as not all of your creditors may be willing to participate in the repayment program developed by the credit counseling agency.
Free My Debt is here to help individuals that are overwhelmed by debt. We are able to help individuals develop a plan to pay off their unsecured debt such as credit card debt. Secured debt and other types of debt, such as child support and student loans, are generally not included in credit counseling repayment plans.
Free My Debt is not able to tell you about bankruptcy or other options for getting out of debt, but we provide you with a great bankruptcy counseling agent if you really need to file for bankruptcy. In addition, Free My Debt may be able to help you develop a budget that will help you learn to live within your means.