Savings Day – Spend Wisely, Save Swiftly

To quickly boost savings, you have to reduce spending.

A clear savings goal will motivate you to cut back on spending so you can save more. Eliminate temptations. Reduce your exposure to social media, TV, and magazines. Limit shopping in person or online. Substitute it with healthier activities. Before making purchases, just stop. Give yourself at least 24 hours to determine if it’s necessary, a good price, or the best time to buy. Move credit cards from your wallet or purse to a very inconvenient place. Use cash instead. Consider asking your credit card company to reduce your credit limit. Remember that if you lower your limit too much it can impact your credit score. Raising or lowering spending limits impacts your credit utilization ratio, and that’s an important factor in scoring. For example, if you have a $1,000 balance and a $10,000 limit, your ratio is 1 to 10 or 10%. Drop the limit to $5,000 and your ratio’s now 1 to 5 or 20%. You’ve doubled it. Which is not good. You want a low ratio of balance to your limit. Credit card companies can raise or lower the limits whenever they want. They examine your credit score, income, your available credit, and how much of it you’re using. So, get involved to control your ratio. Spend wisely and save more! “The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.” (Proverbs 21:20)

Now shopping without self-control can create credit card debt. If you’re struggling, I recommend Christian Credit Counselors. They’ll create a debt management plan that will work for you. For more information call the Crown Helpline: 800-722-1976 or visit online at crown.org/ccc.