Helpful Tips to Cure A Financial Hangover

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Overindulging during the Christmas, New Year period can leave us with more than just a few extra kilos to contend with. Many of us will be left with a bit of a ‘financial hangover’ too.

January can be a bit of a tough month recovering from Christmas & holiday expenses, only to hit with back to school expenses, or if you’re self-employed it’s often a slower month overall.

If you’re experiencing a financial hangover we’ve put together a few pointers to help you get things back on track.

Firstly & most importantly

Take stock of where you’re at

It can be very tempting to bury your head in the sand & ignore your financial situation. However, in our experience this only ends up prolonging & intensifying your ‘financial hangover’ in the long run.

Take the time to work out what you’ve got outstanding at the moment. Overdrafts, credit cards, store cards etc. What interest rate are you being charged? And what income will you have coming in?

A quick rule of thumb is to make sure you focus on those higher interest rate debts first, while still ensuring you make at least the minimum payments on the others.

Doing a mini budget is important at this point, to ascertain exactly what funds you have available to you to clear the debt & meet your other financial obligations (click to access online budget tool)

If it looks like it’ll take you more than a couple of pays to get back on track, then it maybe time to consider a short term loan to tidy things up & keep your credit check intact.

Depending on your situation there are a few different options here:

1. Already have a Home Loan – Then it maybe possible to top it up & take advantage of home loan interest rates that are generally a lot lower than other finance options.

However, do be careful with this one – if you find yourself topping up your home loan & the loan term is over a long period of time, you’ll end up paying more overall in interest costs.

2. Transfer credit card debt to a new credit card with 0% interest. Generally a condition of this sort of transfer is you’ll be required to show proof of repayment & closure of the old card, & there may also be conditions around how the interest free transfer works. So make sure you read the fine print.

3. A short term loan / personal loan is often the best option here, providing you with a way to consolidate the debt & the certainty of a structured repayment plan.

At the moment the personal loan process is a lot more straight forward than a home loan top-up and can be approved in as little as 24-48hrs. The Focus team has direct access to quality lenders Select Asset Finance for personal lending, & Prosper if you’re looking for business finance.

However you decide to proceed, the important thing to remember when trying to cure a financial hangover, is to ensure the term of the loan is as short as possible, while you’re still being able to cover your ‘normal’ household expenses.

Looking for a little guidance on what would be the best option for you? Then don’t hesitate to contact the Focus Team on 0800 334 338 or email info@ffgl.co.nz

 

PS If you’re wanting to work out potential repayments our mortgage calculator tool can be used for both home lending or personal loans. Simply fill in the amount, interest rate & desired term.

  • Money Management