On the day that you decide to set foot on the path to financial freedom you should take a good hard look at your credit reports. The content of your credit will determine your credit scores. Every one of the building blocks of your financial plan is important. But if you ignore your credit every single large obligation in your life can end up costing far more than it should.
Credit Repair
As a credit repair professional I can tell you that there is a strong likelihood that your credit report contains errors that are having a negative impact on your credit scores. When you review your credit reports please take the time to look at every single item. The all important FICO credit scoring model places a significant amount of weight on information that you might not normally consider. Most people scan their credit report in search of obvious derogatory items like late payments or collections. Important information like the age of each account as indicated by the initial reporting date is often ignored. There are a number of important categories that can have a major impact on your score that you need to examine. A close look at all three of your reports will pay dividends.
Live Within Your Means
Over time life will force you to live within your means. It is a universal truth. If you live beyond your means today you will inevitably be living below your means tomorrow. Spending beyond your ability to repay is a temptation to which too many people succumb. The result may be familiar to you! If you find yourself wondering where the money for your car payment will be coming from, or if you find yourself examining the content of your checking account and realizing that you will have to cut back on your food budget, you have probably over committed yourself.
Start Your Budget Now
How much do your really have available to spend? This is not a complicated question. For most people the answer comes in the form of their weekly paycheck. If you want to put an end to financial stress you have to make a serious effort to live within a budget. Whatever it takes you have to make your expenses fit within the constraints of your income. If after a careful accounting you discover, as many people do, that your expenses exceed your income you must take immediate action to correct this situation. There are only a couple of options. If you have examined your credit repair options as a means of reducing the cost of your credit the only choice left is to look at ways to cut back. If you are serious about achieving financial freedom you need to make this a priority.
The Beauty of Simplicity
If you find that your expenses exceed your income you need to look at each expense item with an open mind. If you want to be free from money concerns you may have to make sacrifices. This is a matter of priority. If you have purchased an automobile with an oversized payment you should consider trading it in for a car that fits within your budget. Are you stuck with a mortgage that is sucking so much money out of your account each month that you have nothing left over? If you want peace of mind you should consider downsizing. There is no shame in this. If you don’t make these decisions voluntarily today you may find that your creditors are forcing you to make the decisions tomorrow. In the credit repair business we see people every day that have come to these valuable realizations the hard way.
Inner Wealth and Outer Wealth
You should not look at these budgetary decisions as an austerity plan. The inner peace that comes from living within your means is far more satisfying than the pleasure of buying unaffordable possessions. If you can fully grasp this concept and put it into practice an amazing thing will happen in your life. You will discover that you have more money than you need each month. And having discovered the joy of living within your means you will naturally discover the next step towards financial freedom which is savings and prudent investment. The value that you place on inner peace will inevitably lead you to real wealth. The first steps towards financial freedom may seem hard, but the moment that you commit yourself to the path you will feel a burden lift from your shoulders. You are on your way.