You’ve probably heard a lot of good advice over the years on how to pay off your debts, including the tip that you should pay more than the minimum payment due each month. However, this may not always be easy when you are on a tight budget. Even if you want to pay more than the minimum balance, you may not be able to afford it.

Fortunately, there are several ways that you can pay more on your credit cards by using “hidden” sources of money. The sources are hidden in plain sight, and once you re- purpose them to be used to pay off your debt, you’ll find yourself better off financially in the long run.

One of the best ways to reduce your debt is to use your tax return each year in debt repayment. If you typically get a large tax return payment each year, it means that you are giving the government a no-interest loan! Use that money wisely to reduce your personal debt, and consider increasing your exemptions on your paycheck if you can. The more exemptions you can claim, the more of your paycheck you get to keep. You’ll get a smaller tax return back in the coming year, but you’ll get more of your money each month that you can use to pay off your debts further.

If you have a savings account built up and a large amount of debt, you should sacrifice your savings in order to be debt free. Although you may take a lot of pride in building up your savings, it doesn’t make sense to hold on to it while you are paying 18% interest on your credit cards. Most savings accounts only pay 4%, so you’re better off using that money to pay off your debt.

You can pay off debts painlessly by squirreling away any bonuses, overtime or raises that you get at your job. Use the difference between your old paycheck and your new paycheck to make extra payments on your accounts. Since you didn’t have this money before, you won’t miss it at all. (more…)

It’s common knowledge that food prices are rising all over the country. If you’ve felt the hit on your wallet as you leave the grocery store, you’ll be happy to know that there are some easy ways that you can reduce your spending and still get the food items that you need. Although it’s not possible to turn back the clock and pay the same amount for food that we did years ago, it is very simple to get more for your money.

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear “save money on groceries” is probably coupons. Coupons from stores and manufacturers are a great way to save money if you know how to use them right. The key in saving money with coupons is to use them on the things you’d be purchasing anyway. Manufacturers make coupons to encourage consumers to buy new products outside of their normal spending habits. That’s why you’ll often see discounts on brand new products that you’ve never tried. If you’re not careful, you can spend a lot of money buying food with coupons that you don’t need.

Before you start clipping coupons, write down your grocery list. This way you know what you need before you start looking for discounts. Each week compare your grocery list to the coupons available. If you find a two for one discount on bread, terrific! But if you get 30% on a packaged dinner that you’ve never bought before it’s best to just pass it by. Only buy what you need and you’ll find your coupon savings will go a lot further.

Making a grocery list and planning your coupons feeds into the next simple tip for grocery savings - staying organized. If you go into a grocery store with a plan of attack you’ll be a lot more likely to stick to your budget. Planning meals and knowing exactly what you need to fix them will help you trim unnecessary items out of your grocery list, which helps you save money. (more…)

Home repairs and improvements can help you increase the value of your home, but they can cost a lot if you’re not careful. You don’t have to spend a lot on your home improvements for them to have a major impact. Here are some tips on making your house a home for the lowest price possible.

1. Decide What You Can Do and What You Must Pay For:  Home improvement doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. The best way to save money on home improvement is to do the vast majority of the work yourself. If you provide the labor, the costs of materials will be negligible compared to what you would have to pay a professional for the same job.

Keep in mind that this only applies for basic home repairs. Unless you’ve had a lot of training or know someone who can guide you, you shouldn’t try to handle your own electrical upgrades. The same goes for repairing your roof. But tiling, wallpaper and other similar projects are definitely within most peoples’ abilities.

Most home improvement stores offer free classes that will teach you most of what you need to know in order to get started on basic home improvement projects. If you don’t have a store close by, there are hundreds of instructional videos online that make it easy to learn what you need to.

2. Set a Budget:  The biggest key to saving money when you are shopping is setting a budget. When you plan our your project and know exactly how much you can afford to spend, it makes it a lot easier to ignore the special offers and upgrades that you’ll see at the home improvement store. It’s really easy to go over your budget when you go into a store unprepared. Make sure you do research on exactly what you need to complete your projects. Watch for sales and buy only what you need. Don’t use the 50% price tag as an excuse to overspend.

If you need some specialty equipment to complete your project, ask around and see if you can borrow from friends or family. Someone in your circle of influence may have just the equipment you need so you won’t have shell out money for something you’ll only use once. This way you’ll stay within your budget and still be able to complete your project.

3. Hire a “Crew” for Cheap:  Your friends and family can also be a good source of cheap labor. If you’re doing some extensive work on your house that requires more than one set of hands, schedule some time with friends and family. Make a day of it and provide them with food. Most will be happy to help as long as you return the favor when they need help.

4. Go Slowly with Home Improvements:  Once you’ve completed one project, you might feel so ambitious that you want to renovate the whole house. Not only can multiple jobs be costly, but you may find yourself burning out halfway through your projects and making mistakes which could cost you in the long run. Plan out your improvements so you can budget for them and ensure that you’ll actually get them done.

Managing debt can seem like quite the task to take on. Many people don’t even know where to begin. Oftentimes, when things seem like are at their worst, people can start feeling like there’s no way to bounce back financially. However, I’ve come up with four tips that can help anyone manage their debt more successfully.

1. Be Organized - A lack of organization could have lead to you being in debt in the first place. That being said, once you’re in debt, organization is quintessential to debt management. Utilizing calendars, planners, organizers, or anything else that will help you make payments on time can be a tremendous help. Additionally, keeping track of paychecks, and keeping strict accounts is also very beneficial. The key to any type of management is organization, and it’s no different with debts.

2. Seek Help If Needed - When trying to manage debt, too many people think they can get through it all by themselves. It never hurts to seek advice from people who have been through things before. Also, if things are bad enough, professional financial help can also be very beneficial. A lot of people find debt consolidation to be extremely effect when trying to manage debt. Remember to not go into anything too hastily, and always read the fine print. Those who are too proud to seek help with their debt management, even if it is needed, usually have further financial difficulties.

3. If Possible, Pay Bills Online - This is my personal preference, and by all means you can continue to deal with checks if you prefer. However, I’ve found that paying bills online can sometimes be much easier, and can help avoid late fees. Whereas with checks, you have to make sure they are in the mail a few days before the due dates, you can sometimes pay bills online the same day. Also, for someone like myself, who finds computers to be a lot easier and more conducive to organization, online payments are the way to go. Rather than worry about filing countless amounts of papers, you can simply put a paperless statement in a folder.

4. Don’t Let Yourself Become Overwhelmed - Staying calm is central to any debt management. Even if the bills are piling up, if you panic, or start to lose focus, things can get much worse. Keeping a clear head and having a defined plan to get out of debt is the best thing to do. This can be accomplished with organization and any help you may feel you need. It’s tremendously difficult to stay organized if you are in panic mode constantly. So remember, just stay calm and focus on the tasks at hand.

So those may only be four tips, but they can significantly help anyone with debt management. Unfortunately, it is generally quite easy to get into debt, but very difficult to get out of debt. The main key to debt management is organization. Paying bills on time and slowly lowering one’s debts requires a significant amount of dedication. Last, but certainly not least, remember to not let yourself become overwhelmed, because that never helps solve debt worries.

Heather P. Johnson is a freelance writer, as well as a contributor for Credit Card Lowdown, a site for finding credit card reviews. Heather invites your comments and freelancing job opportunities at her GMAIL email address.

Debt problems don’t happen overnight. They are the cumulative result of habits that build up over time. Often times, when people find themselves overwhelmed with debt they wish that they could just turn back the clock and change their ways. Instead of lamenting over past mistakes, why not identify problem-causing habits now and stop them in their tracks? Here are five bad habits that you can stop now and save yourself trouble later on.

Bad Habit #1- Trying to Manage Money without a Budget

Budgeting is one of those terms, like dieting, that makes people cringe. But establishing and working with a budget is one of the best ways to keep yourself out of debt. When you have a budget, you know exactly how much money you’ll be spending and where that spending is going. If you see a great sale or want to splurge on something extra, you’ll either know that you can’t or you’ll spend from an allotted amount. When you work without a budget, you may end up spending money that you should have used to buy groceries, get a hair transplant, or buy that new grandfather clock for your home you have been eyeing.  In turn, you end up using a credit card and building up your debt.

Bad Habit #2- Relying on Credit Cards for Daily Expenses

When you use your credit card to buy gas or groceries, like in the above example, you’re actually paying more than you should for those daily expenses. Most people run up their credit cards and then only pay the minimum balance each month. Instead of only paying what you spent, you’ll end up paying up to twice as much.

Bad Habit #3- Making Late Payments on Your Credit Cards

If you’ve found a credit card with a low interest rate, you may be out of luck when you make a late payment. Most credit card companies switch to a penalty APR if you happen to be late on your payment. The penalty APR makes it more difficult to pay off your debts quickly, which can cause you to pay more on your credit cards than you actually owe. In addition, many credit card companies charge a late fee of $29 or more meaning that every time you are late you are digging yourself deeper into debt. (more…)