Financial problems seem to come in clusters. Your car gets a flat and now you must purchase a new tire ($75), but while at the tire store you notice that your other tires have no thread left on them ($250). Your costs just jumped. The very next day you get a speeding ticket for going 20 over the limit ($150). Ouch. But that’s not the end of it, in what seems to be an evil twist of fate, your central air handler craps out on you in your house ($400). All of sudden your debt problems just got bigger in a string of bad luck.
This happens to all of us. And no you’re not just unlucky, even though that is what it feels like. Even if you are on a debt consolidation plan, these types of unexpected bills can hurt you. You can prevent the debt of the new bills from hurting you too much in the future, but not the unlucky events from happening.
Start Saving
Like most Americans, you might not have spent the time to build an emergency fund or a decent savings account. It’s important to always save a little money from every paycheck. Even if it’s a small amount, it will add up when you need it the most.
Having a cushion of money can help prevent the domino effect of bad luck of things that cost money. Car problems seem to creep up unexpectedly and put a huge dent in your debt. But if you had a $2000 savings or emergency fund, you can now take that bill in stride and not stress as much over it.
Look at Your Budget
It’s never too late to take another look at your budget and see where you can cut costs to save more money. You should be looking at your budget on a monthly basis to make sure you are still on track. If you are on a debt consolidation plan, then you should already have a budget in place that the credit counselor had helped draw up for you.
Once you have found a couple of more dollars to shave off your budget, put it right back into savings. Start growing your savings account today.
You cannot plan for these unexpected bad luck events to occur, but at least you can plan to afford them. That alone will make it seem less stressful when your mechanic tells you you need a new radiator for your car.