Lots of people have credit cards these days, but with the statistics showing that the average card holder is several thousand dollars in debt, it is obvious that not many of those people know how to responsibly manage their finances. There are a lot of ways that you can make living on a budget easier and not let your spending get out of hand, but you will have to stick to them and remain diligent if you are going to make sure you stay out of the debt everyone else seems to have fallen into.
Do your best to eliminate unnecessary spending from your household, at least until you get yourself financially stabilized. If you are able to make your house payments (or your rent) and all of your other bills on time every month without any problems, you should consider yourself financially stable enough to spend a little on unnecessary things. But, if you are unable to meet these obligations easily and still have money left over to put into a savings account, you should do your best to get rid of all of your extra expenditures during the month, including trips to the coffee shop, karate lessons, or any other activity that is unnecessary that costs you money.
The next thing you need to do is cut down on your utility usage every month. This means turning the light off when you leave a room unattended and not leaving the water running when no one is using it. Wash large loads of clothes instead of small ones and take showers instead of baths. Unplug appliances you are not using or use a power strip and simply turn it off when you go to bed at night. Most appliances simply go into standby mode when you think you are turning them off and they still draw electricity, so turning these off will save you more money than you might think.
Pay your credit card off completely every month if you can manage it. If you cannot manage this, at least try to make more than the minimum payment and if possible, try to cover what you spent on the card that month. But, no matter how you make a payment, make sure that you make the minimum required one and do not miss it. It will not only cause you to have to pay an extra late fee, but it will also show up on your credit report.
Also pay attention to what your credit limit is on your card. Some companies will raise your credit limit and the paperwork informing you that they have will come to you a few weeks later. This enables you to determine what percentage of your limit you are using. You should try to keep your balance below 30 to 40 percent of your limit so your minimum payments every month do not get out of hand.
