Life is not easy. It comes with constant challenges that test your will and strength. Something like a new baby or the loss of a job can affect your income and eventually lower your credit score. As a result, you’re now a high risk to potential creditors. This makes it hard to get a personal loan, a mortgage, a car or even a credit card. Losing a job makes it difficult to make ends meet and forces you to live paycheck to paycheck. There are ways that you can get through a tough time and end this vicious cycle.
Ways to borrow money
Unfortunately, when your credit score takes a hit you can pretty much rule out the option of a refinance or home equity loan. You can, of course, use a credit card to cover a few bills for the short term. But, if you’re living paycheck to paycheck chances are good that if you have a card you probably don’t have a lot of available credit. There is another way to get a quick loan online through a company like BlueTrustLoans.com. Offering a better option versus the high-interest payday loans, Blue Trust Loans can get you a personal loan up to $1,250 with several convenient repayment options. There are minimal eligibility requirements and the funds are generally transferred to your account quickly. In order to qualify you’ll need a checking account in your name, a social security number and viable income.
Take on a part-time job
Living paycheck to paycheck can add a lot of stress to your life. The best thing to do is to assess your current situation. Sit down and list your bills against your income. If you make more than you need to cover your expenses getting on track should take just a few months of tightening your belt. If, on the other hand, you end up with expenses that exceed your income, you may want to take on a part-time job for 6 months to a year until you reduce it down to where you can afford your bills and still live.
The importance of a budget
A budget is not just to show you what you make and spend. It also gives you a true understanding of where your money goes. Sometimes expenses seem to creep up. You go from having a large surplus to giving up your morning coffee out of necessity. All it takes to do this is the art of having good credit and using it to the max. For instance, you have a great credit score so you buy a home, then you buy a car, then you go on vacation a few times a year. Before you know it you have a mortgage, home equity line of credit, a car payment and multiple credit cards. When you have a written budget you have all your expenses in front of you. Because of this, you notice every new expense.
Maintaining a great credit score
A credit score is your number in the world among would-be loans and lines of credit. If you have a poor credit score it can mean paying a higher interest rate for your mortgage, car and credit cards. It can also mean dealing with the knowledge that you can receive a denial for any one of these loans. When you have too much debt you begin to pay a few bills late and may even end up missing a payment or two. The problem is that creditors are not willing to forgive the fact that your late and just a couple of these recurrences can reduce your score significantly.
A savings account
Probably the last thing you think of when you’re trying to figure out how to pay a gas or electric bill is establishing a savings account. Believe it or not, this can actually prevent an unexpected expense from turning into an emergency. Make it a weekly practice to take a small amount from your check and deposit it into a savings account. It doesn’t matter if it’s just $5 to start. The point is that you’ll start saving. As time goes on and you get a raise or a new job you can increase the amount of your weekly deposit.
