A lot of people worry about their credit score more than they should. Usually the people most worried about credit are people in dire straights, from the lower to upper-middle class and people who have misappropriated their funds because they over spent. As a result, they are in a constant loop of uncertainty of "when am I going to get paid next and how do I tackle this surmounting debt problem?" This is what certainly works for me but most certainly won't work for most others. You have been warned.
Luckily for both of us, I'm not a financial expert, nor do I want to become one. A professional certified financial planner is certainly under a lot of scrutiny and must always do things by the books. They won't tell you how to manage your money in unorthodox ways because they have their own ways that work for most people. This isn't for most people. Turn away if you are a financial time bomb, or turn in because you might just change your life.
Balance Transfers at 0% Promotional Rates
The first thing you should know about this is to always apply for cards you are most eligible to be approved for.
The second thing to note is to never apply for a credit card with the same bank if you're wanting to balance transfer that amount because they will not allow you to balance transfer funds within the same bank.
The third thing is never apply for more than one card at a time in any given year. It's a one and done type of deal because you don't want to ding your credit score with a hard pull on your credit (when they ask for your credit report) and you lower your credit score as a result. This rule is paramount because you have future upside in better credit when you get approved for a card. So that's why if you don't get approved for a credit card the first time, you shouldn't apply for a second one no matter what. The uncertainty is too high.
How To Lower Your Debt Using the Promo 0% Balance Transfer Rate
Spreadsheet your entire income and expenses. Find the unnecessary expenses, and do your research on where to get better deals elsewhere whether it is better service at a lower cost, or even premium free services. For example, for one of my businesses, I used to pay Mailchimp about $17 with taxes included every month. I switched over to Mail Octopus for free and I get to send up to 50,000 emails in a month and also their email templates look prettier!
Look at your monthly subscription costs and multiply it by 12. You'll soon see that the little fees tack up. For example $17 per month x 12 months is $204 per year! Now do the reverse for every big purchase you have to make. Sometimes you just have to do it right? Let's say you have a yearly $900 membership bill. That is $75 per month. You have to find ways to cut out the stuff you don't need and it's very simple. You budget and over budget for things that might happen. For example, I recently had to pay a $300 towing bill; so that means I have to make sacrifices and not do one of my monthly extras such as purchasing new education courses to learn from.
Always stick to the budget.
Do not over pay your debt, and do not underpay your debt. The rule of "pay yourself first" applies here. Cash is more important than credit. And let's say you do this right like I have for almost 5 years now using the balance transfer method; and you always get approved for a new card at promo APR rates every single year. Your credit card balance will go down every single year, and it will compound.
Pay Yourself First
I have a rule where I always tax myself 30% and it goes directly into my investment portfolios every pay period. I do this because time is more valuable than money. Although there are other investors who like to hold in cash while markets are volatile, I now have 5 to 6 different investment vehicles that I regularly funnel money into (legitimately) and all have different purposes for them.
For example, my Webull portfolio is for trading long swing positions. Half of the portfolio holds cash while the other holds stocks that I meticulously choose with a profit take goal.
My M1Finance portfolio is for dollar cost averaging companies that I believe are either undervalued or have a lot of room to grow and have solid fundamentals. More importantly, they almost all pay dividends.
My Tezos portfolio is for stacking my Tezzies until they reach my price target so that I can rebuy when it dumps again. My goal for it is to eventually reach 35,000 tokens so that the dividends they pay out will allow me to trade with them and increase my bags. Etc.
My Worthy bonds are for helping small businesses get loans, and the loan provider splits the yield with us (the investors) by way of 5% yield. They do the due diligence for you to ensure that the businesses they choose to loan to are worthy of it hence the name. I have almost 10 bonds now and the interest is definitely stacking up quickly!
){kind=link}
0 Comments