#debtapps

[businesshikes]

The Internet And Your Money

The internet technology and Wi-Fi can help you save money and it can help you spend it. No matter what you’re doing with your money online you can keep track of it with your smartphone, tablet, and even your computer.

Shopping online, banking online, and working online, they are all things that many people do on a daily basis. Here are some things your internet technology can do for you when it comes to money matters.

House Hunting And Financing

You don’t have to be sitting at a desk to look for a home to buy. Your favorite home hunting websites have apps available for your phones. Zillow and Trulia are a couple of the most popular places to house hunt, and you can use them on your phone.

You can also look into financing your home online, and through your phone. Get pre-approved, reach out to realtors via websites or text messaging, or even directly call them with one click from the ad you’re looking at for a home.

Banking Online

Your bank or credit union likely has an app available. You can use that app to not just keep track of the money in your checking and savings accounts, but you can also use it to transfer money between accounts and to deposit check (these days you can submit a check photo and don’t even need to visit the bank to make a deposit).

Banks and credit unions aren’t the only ways to bank these days. There are bitcoins and different payment sites that you can use to shop (Paypal being one of the most popular of these).

Getting Paid Online

Paypal, and other sites like it, have made it easier to get paid online, whether you work online or you are selling things online. Paypal even has a debit card so that you can have easy access to your money no matter where you are. The apps for your payment accounts online will help you keep track of deposits and sales.

Looking for Credit

You can use internet technology to find out what your credit is and to apply for credit. Sites like Credit Karma can send you updates via email and text whenever your credit score changes (and it can fluctuate constantly, especially if you’re shopping or apply for credit and loans).

As far as looking for credit cards and loans, you can search for articles that will help you find the best interest rates for your particular credit rating. A little research goes a long way and can help keep you from messing your credit up by applying for too many cards or loans in a short period of time.

Crowdfunding

If you do the crowdfunding thing you should definitely have the app for your chosen funding site on your phone. Not only will you get notified when your campaign makes money, but you can also get updates when there are new campaigns that may interest you.

[ethicalurthling-blog]

HOW TO BECOME DEBT-FREE FAST!

Did you know that the average United States household carries $137,063 in debt, according to the Federal Reserve's latest numbers? This reality is made even sadder by the fact that the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the median household income was just over $59,000 last year. 

Americans are living far beyond their means.

When you decide enough is enough and you sit down to face reality and really examine your budget, the amount of debt staring back at you can be incredibly scary! 

DO NOT RUN IN FEAR! Attack it head-on. You too can become debt free and I’m going to give you FIVE quick tips that I utilized to get out from under nearly $200,000 in debt FAST! 

1. DRAIN YOUR SAVINGS

Drain your savings down to $1000 and apply the balance to your lowest debts. Okay, I know this one is scary! If that number is too small for you or you have other legitimate reasons why it is imperative you keep a higher dollar amount in savings, by all means, use your best judgment. One thousand dollars is typically more than you’d need in case of an unforeseen emergency though and you can throw that money at debt, knocking it out faster and reducing the amount of interest you’ll pay.

I had a plentiful savings account and because of that thought that I was financially responsible. Laughable really, when you consider the mortgage, car loan, and consumer debt I had been sitting on. I utilized my savings account to pay off my smaller debts like my car note, which I was only maintaining for credit building purposes, and a home improvement debt of $8000 that I only took on because I bought into the whole “12 months, 0% interest” bull. Regardless of how I found myself in debt, I was determined to get out of it, and that was the fastest way!

Don’t have a savings account? A lot of people don't. Try the other tips!

2. USE YOUR ASSETS

Use your assets to make you money on the side! Do you own a vehicle? Utilize companies like Lyft and Uber to make some money in your spare time! Do you own a house? List rental spaces on Airbnb or Home Away. These are easy companies to get involved with and treat their independent contractors amazingly!

When I was paying off debt, as I said before, I drained my savings to get out from under it. I wanted to quickly replenish my account so I listed every spare room, my living room couches, and even my backyard on Airbnb. Many nights I would have an entire house full of people! I couldn’t believe men, women, and families were paying me to sleep on my couch or put a tent up in my suburban backyard, but they were! The process of it all was very simple, the company is very reputable, I ALWAYS felt safe and I made some significant cash FAST with very little effort!

3. SELL YOUR UNWANTED POSSESSIONS

This is probably my favorite tip because it benefits you in so many ways! Not only will you make extra money, but you will declutter and minimalize at the same time!

Sort through every single drawer, cabinet, closet, nook, and cranny. Touch every single object and determine whether or not you benefit from it being in your life. If the answer is no, put it in a sale pile, EVEN IF YOU THINK NO ONE WILL WANT IT! They will, I promise. It’s actually kind of mind-blowing.

If you have enough at the end of the process you can host an estate sale, otherwise hit up craigslist and your local Facebook yard sale pages and get to posting!

I made tens of thousands of dollars doing this. No, I’m not kidding. I got serious about it and sorted through every single item that I owned. For me, I knew I wanted to get rid of far more than I kept so I designated one room of my house to be a KEEP room. You may want to do the opposite and have a designated SELL room. At the end of the process, I had an estate sale. I hired an actual estate sale company to come in, set it up, advertise, etc. They took 30% off the top but I walked away with a ton of money! Another option, of course, is to do it entirely alone and save that 30%.  

What’s more? A year later, I did it AGAIN! I didn’t have a company come out, but I had a moving sale that would blow your mind! I posted on all the facebook yard sale pages and craigslist and had an indoor yard sale where I had a constant slew of people coming in and shopping my unwanted goods, many times, paying more for them than I did. CRAZY!

4. SIDE HUSTLE

Get yourself a side hustle! Whether it’s opening up an Etsy shop to sell your homemade items, delivering pizzas on the weekend, baking holiday cookies and selling them on Facebook, or applying to freelance with companies like UpWork and Fivver, get yourself a side hustle! Make money wherever you can, every dollar counts!

I’m a crafty and artistic person by nature so my side hustles doubled as my creative outlets. THIS IS THE BEST KIND! I decided I would make and sell quilts, soaps, bath bombs, and other various items of the like. 

I know of people that would do peoples Christmas wrapping or address Holiday cards. One of my girlfriends even posted someone else's items for sale on eBay, whatever she sold, she got to keep 10%. When my partner was younger he would pick up handyman and lawn care jobs for a little extra cash. 

Get creative and have fun! There are a billion and one ways to make extra money if you just think to offer it.

5. SNOWBALL

Snowballing is so important when it comes to debt reduction. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it simply means to pay off the smallest balance first. Once you’ve paid that off, move to the next smallest balance. This acts as a reward system of sorts and does amazing things for our psyche and helps us keep moving forward with our goal.

This is SO MOTIVATING! Once I had drained a bit out of my savings and paid off the smaller debts, I was washed with a feeling of “BRING IT ON!”

It becomes a challenge and a game of sorts... seeing how much extra money you can come up with and how fast you can meet little goals. 

I’m a minimalist and knew I wanted to live in a tiny house so for me, the sky was the limit and I was willing to make sacrifices that many wouldn’t view as practical in their lives. For example, I sold my house, made some money off equity and used that to purchase land and build a custom tiny home outright. I knew I could live tiny happily and while doing so I would still hustle and bring in significant income that I could hoard away and later pay cash for a new family sized home.

Obviously, that isn’t for everyone, but you can certainly pay off everything except your mortgage and then work your butt off to meet your monthly goal of a double mortgage payment. Or, perhaps your biggest debt isn’t a house but a student loan, the same applies. 

You can find money EVERYWHERE, you just have to be willing to look! 

I took a look at my Verizon cell phone bill of over $110/month and realized I was paying for an unlimited plan when I only used 2gb of data each month. With a 5 minute search on google, I realized I could switch to Straight Talk, that uses Verizon towers, and pay $35/month and never feel any difference! SO, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I DID! Sure, I could afford the higher phone plan... but why would I?! 

Another example is car insurance. I was paying nearly $1500/year to State Farm for car insurance when with about 20 minutes passively on my phone, I had switched to Esurance where I received the EXACT SAME COVERAGE, literally identical, for HALF THE PRICE!

Stop paying $140 for cable and switch to Netflix for $7.99/month.

Stop ALL subscriptions to monthly boxes, memberships you don’t use, and magazines you barely skim through. 

Download the Every Dollar app on your phone and actually make a strict budget for yourself each month! This alone will save you a TON of money, just by holding yourself accountable! 

Read this article I wrote about things you should never have to buy or this article on how to save big money during the holidays!

Utilize companies like grove collaborative that give you a ton of FREE product with a small $20 first purchase on things you’ll actually use, like laundry soap or dishwashing detergent. 

Download a debt reduction app on your phone where you can see who you own and how much. Usually, they will take interest and such into account. It’s so gratifying when one is marked paid off!

You can get out of debt and you can do it FAST... all it takes is dedication and effort! 

I hope you found this post beneficial and if you’d like to see more on frugality, budgeting and the like… make sure you follow us on social media! We are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.