Franklin shall set you free…

Ashley
Jan 4, 2017
6 min read

It’s not only the birth of a New Year, but also the time we set to prepare our taxes. If you struggle to support a family or are in what is considered to be “low-income” or in “poverty” then you understand that this is a crucial time of year. If you’re smart, this is what helps you come up from that 10 foot hole you dug yourself last year; if you’re irresponsible, then you’ll just go blow everything uncle Sam gives back and find yourself worse-off then where you started.

I personally want to help you avoid being that person. I want to help you make a better life for yourself, to make better choices and to help you develop a responsible financial understanding. In 2017, I am making it a point to regain financial freedom and break free from these debt chains. I’m going to find my financial responsibility, get back on my feet and I’m going to put my family in a better position; So in turn, help me help you.

What’s your plan?

First and foremost you want to understand where you stand, financially. Take steps to clearly understand where you currently sit as far as your debt goes so that you know how you’re going to start and how long this process with take.

1. Start by charting, in detail, all of your debts regardless of importance. This will include pulling your credit report which you can do for free once a year. Doing this will show you where you actually stand and assist you in finding a better way to follow through on your goal.

2. Download a Debt planner (The one I use and recommend the most is called Debt Payoff Planner). This app in particular, after adding all of your bills, will assist you in creating a debt payoff plan to which will also calculate the date in which you will be debt free that is if you followed its plan. I love this app and so does everyone else I’ve recommended it to.

3. Follow your debt plan, if you are in a position to pay more towards a debt or pay a debt completely off then do it! A few things I recommend doing when paying off debt is:

Pay off the smaller debts first, or if possible pay off the debt with the highest interest rate.
Negotiate debts with creditors, not all debts have to be satisfied in full. If you are in a position to negotiate, ask the creditor to provide in writing that the debt shall be cleared from your credit report immediately once satisfied. Creditors will usually comply and said debts typically removed from your report within 30 days.
Set your payments up on a bi-weekly schedule. Doing so will allow you to fall ahead of schedule and reduce the amount of interest in which you are paying towards the debt. This is beneficial to you in the long run as you are paying less on the debt in the end.

Time to think about Saving

Creating a savings plan could benefit you as little or as much as $5,000 a year if you stick to the plan. There are several ways to accomplish this goal, some of which can by done by:

Save all you loose change from the bottom of your purse, under the couch cushion, from the washer or pennies you find on the ground. Wherever you are getting them from, throw them in a bucket or jar and cash it out at the end of the year. Most banks and/or credit unions will have CoinStar machines that won’t charge you fees like the ones at the Market does. Once you cash the coins out apply them to your savings account and just let it nestle with your other savings.
Store all your small bills in a shoe box or can. One challenge I had seen was placing any $5 bills you collected when breaking a larger one into a shoe box and saving them until the end of the year. This is something Letari and I had talked about doing this year. Try it with $1 bills also, because we break bills and receive them so often they might add up quicker.
When balancing your checkbook, round the total spent up to the nearest dollar if not 5. I used to do this and at one point had saved over $2,000 as a savings cushion. Not only am I a numbers person, I am a visual person as well. When I balanced my books this way I visually saw what I had in the account so when it came time to reconcile my accounts I didn’t rely on the online account balance, I just kept telling myself something hadn’t cleared so I never went by what was showing online. This came in handy if I had to rely on the cushion to cover something I over-drafted on in my ledger.
Set up an online Checking account, I’ve done this with Capital One 360, Barclays &

Synchrony . This is just to make it harder to gain access your savings in return making it easier to reach your goal and they offer a higher APY! Sometimes you can find places that will offer an incentive to open an account, when I had set up my Capital One they gave me $75.00. That came in handy towards my savings balance. ($25 Sign up bonus available through referral link.)

It’s best to forget your savings all around, if you open a CD (which I have got my children to do) set the terms and just keep on your savings plan. My advice, set the CD to automatically renew and just forget it is there. Allowing such an account to roll over will benefit you later on, be it retirement or inheritance for your loved ones. It is a difficult discipline to have, but it will be beneficial in the long run and might I say a great way to build savings!
Last but certainly not least, try the 52 week savings challenge. I’ve tried something similar but haven’t been to successful as it gets harder once the amounts get bigger. We’ve had to rely on just 1 income in a household of 10 before, saving wasn’t necessarily a priority at that point but you should really stay disciplined and still save something be it big or small.

Look into alternative income

There are several ways to generate income on the side, some a little harder than others but either way they can be beneficial to you in saving. I spoke about a few in a previous blog (Ebates and InboxDollars). There are plenty of opportunities out there, some require more work than others but you just have to look into them and read the fine print. Here are a few ideas to look into:

Spring is around the corner, when de-cluttering your home consider selling gently used items through local classifieds or apps such as ebay, Offerup or Letgo.
Consider signing up to do Uber. Think of all the activity during the weekend nights and during local festivities, it is a great opportunity to earn a little extra cash.
Help in your neighborhood by doing snow removal, raking leaves or offering handyman work.
Look into apps that pay you for installation. There are quite a few that will pay for each month you keep the app installed. (I am still reading the fine print on some, once I approve them and am willing to list them I will do so. I want to make sure it is worth it before vouching for them) (Ebates, InboxDollars, MyPoints, MySurvey, Shopkick, Ibotta, Swagbucks)
Speaking of de-cluttering, if you have old books from courses you no longer take, consider renting them or selling them online. This can be done by through Campus Book Rentals or Book Scouter. There are also sites in which you can sell old purses and accessories. I’m telling you the internet is full of opportunities, you just have to be willing to find them.

I could literally go on for days, there are so many ways to make an extra buck. My best friend right now is honestly Ebates, my credit union also does cashback offers so sometimes the savings doubles. I get rewarded for auto pay through my credit union as well as cash back on one time purchases. I would love to help you in any ways so don’t ever hesitate to ask any questions.

I honestly hope you found this information useful. I am a very resourceful person and I honestly just want to help those and support anyone who is struggling to regain themselves like I am. We have had quite a few hard hits this year, we are still trying to recover but with all the information that I’ve come across I strongly believe that we are going to be ahead of the game in a few months and well above our goal by the end of the year. I am pumped and ready to go! I’m here to help however I can, Just don’t give up on yourself. The information is out there, just keep an open mind and be willing to do the work. No one said this journey was going to be easy, so don’t cut yourself short when the end seems too far to reach. You’ll get there! WE WILL GET THERE!