Missionaries of the Sacred

Make savings a priority*

Include savings in your budget.

Take a look at your monthly expenses. Which expenses are for products or services that you truly need? If you are using credit cards to pay for expenses that are not covered by your income, stop charging non-essential items.

Make a budget and stick to it. In addition to saving a portion of your income, try not to make purchases that would require you to spend every penny of what is left.

When was the last time you checked your interest rate on your mortgage, auto loan, credit card? If it’s been a while, it’s time to take a look. Calculate how much money you’re paying in interest and see if you can make more than the minimum payment without penalty.

Try to pay off your credit card balance each month. If that isn’t possible, try to at least pay more than the minimum payment.

Keep credit in perspective
Always remember that lines of credit aren’t income. Guard against charging more to your credit card just because “it’s there” or your credit limit recently increased.