Solid financial planning is the foundation of long term credit repair success. Credit repair requires effort and you don’t want to see the benefits slip away as the result of a lack of planning. One of the most important components of a personal financial plan and the one that will secure your credit repair results for the long term is a budget.
Living Within Your Means
A budget does not have to be an austerity program! Even if you discover that you need to limit your spending in certain areas in order to balance your income and your expenses, you might be surprised to find that there are many creative ways of working with the funds available. That being said, if you are actively involved in a credit repair effort it is absolutely essential to live within your means. If you spend more than you earn eventually you will be unable to pay your bills and your credit repair progress will suffer. But if you budget properly you may even discover that you have the ability to set aside some money each month for a cushion. Even a small savings plan will lead to wonderful benefits like self confidence and increased self esteem.
Getting Your Budget Started
Starting a budget requires just a bit of effort. I suggest that you start out with a clean pad of legal paper. Clear your desk or kitchen table and get ready to focus your mind. Write down every single thing that you can think of that you spend money on. Housing, food, and automobile expenses are obvious, but you also need to include other occasional expenses like entertainment and even your annual vacation. To include an occasional expense like an annual vacation simply estimate the amount and divide it by twelve. You must get a clear vision of the amount of money needed to cover everything.
Finding Your Balance
Once you have a reasonably solid calculation of your monthly expenses compare this number with your monthly take home income. If you have an excess left over each month, congratulations! You are in great shape. But if you find that there is a deficiency, don’t panic. This has been a discovery process and it is better to know than not to know. If you see that on average you are short each month your credit repair effort is at risk and you need to make adjustments to your expenses. There may be hard decisions involved, but I promise you that it is worth doing. There is no feeling better than having a solid financial foundation, and by doing this you will guarantee that your credit repair efforts will pay off for years to come. Good luck!