Four Strategies For Paying Back Your Payday Loan
The financial situations that cause people to take an advance on their paycheck are the very same reasons that make it difficult to pay one back. After all, you wouldn't need a loan if you had an extra $300 every check. If you don't have extra income, how are you ever going to find an additional $300 down the road to pay your lender back?
That's why paying back your payday loan in a timely fashion requires to creative thinking. However, with a little effort, it's entirely possible to pay back your loan without hindering your life too greatly.
Strategy #1: Ditch Your Phone
In today's society, it's almost impossible to exist without a cell phone. Keeping in touch with family members and employers is key to maintaining a happy, sustainable lifestyle. On top of that, since most smartphones allow you to check email and other important documents, they've become a staple in manylives.
That said, they also cost a lot of money. The average cell phone bill in the United States is $73 per person. If your home also has a land line, you can add another monthly charge to that total. Even if you can't throw your cell phone away entirely, consider switching over to a pre-paid plan with a free phone and limiting your use. You'll save hundreds of dollars each year.
Strategy #2: Drink Water Instead of Soda or Alcohol
Americans drink a lot of soda. In fact, the average person consumes over 44 gallons of soda each year. If you want to save a lot of money, stop doing that. One gallon of soda costs over three dollars at retail grocery prices. You could save over 150 dollars per person in your home by cutting it out--and you'll be a lot healthier too!
Alcohol is even worse on your finances. Even inexpensive beer costs over 50 cents per can. Fortunately, you don't need either soda or alcohol to live, and water is freely available in most homes. Make the switch to water in place of these expensive drinks and watch your bank balance rise.
Strategy #3: Shop For Food Differently
Groceries seem like a fixed expense. However, while it's true that you need to eat every day, there is a lot of variance in the type of food that you buy. Very similar to costly drinks, food choices can be money sinks. These include:
- Packaged meals
- Snack foods
- Variable-cost items (produce, meats, seafood)
The two keys to shopping effectively are to develop your staples and to buy seasonal foods. Staples are foods you eat every week--or daily--that you choose because they are consistently low-cost and highly nutritious. Milk, eggs, and whole-grain breads are examples. These ensure that your bills stay low and your dietary needs are met.
The other switch to make is to buy produce in season. For example, in 2012, the wholesale price of strawberries ranged from $0.74 to $2.22 per pound. Buying the fruits and vegetables that are in seasons allows you to eat a healthy diet while capturing huge savings.
Strategy #4: Schedule Your Spending
Most people don't consider the timing of their spending. They might have a weekly food shopping day, but other expenses are handled when they come up. This approach does nothing to limit spending or to foster consideration of how money gets spent.
Instead of using this approach, schedule a day when shopping happens. This can cause slight inconveniences when an immediate need pops up. However, by containing your shopping to a single day each week, you'll naturally build in time to consider whether an expense is necessary or not. You'll also avoid breaking up large spending patterns into smaller chunks that you're less likely to notice.
These strategies should be implemented immediately upon taking out your loan from a company like Payday Express. Then, when you're done paying your lender back, keep them going! It's much easier to pay back a future loan if you've got some money in the bank and a surplus each week.