You worked hard and you have finally done it. You pulled yourself out of credit card debt. You will now want to avoid making the same mistakes that drove you into debt in the first place. Consider the following strategies when planning financial matters.
Make a budget
You can help avoid going back into credit card debt by making yourself a budget. You will want to be realistic about your budget. Think about what your spending was before that got you into debt and figure out how you are going to avoid overspending on the same things. You want to make sure that you keep on track with your budget. You may want to enter in your expenses every day, week or very regularly so that you do not get behind without realizing it. If you spend too much in one area, then decide how you will make up for it.
Get rid of some of your credit cards
You should think about whether you really need all of your credit cards. Some people will just spend what they have available. If you do not need all of it, then you might want to start cutting down on them. This might also help your credit rating. You might want to start with all of the miscellaneous store credit cards that you have. This might make it less likely for you to go to stores when you do not need anything.
Pay with cash
Some people who are survivors of credit card debt want to deal with credit cards as little as possible. They may just take out how much cash they want to spend at any given time and just bring that with them when they go to the store. They will not have the option of overspending.
Do not go shopping
Some people just cannot help themselves when they are at the store. Do you get a “Must have it, gotta have it, can’t live without it” mentality when you go shopping? If this is you and caused you problems in the past, then you might want to just avoid the stores altogether. That also goes for the online shopping websites if that is your weakness.
When you get the urge to spend, think about how hard you worked to get out of debt. Be proud of yourself when you see your bank account growing and when you see yourself get in charge of your finances. Use that and the above tips to help you stay out of credit card debt for good.