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HomeBlog Blog8 Ways To Improve Your Finances
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8 Ways To Improve Your Finances

March 26, 2013 by National Debt Relief

smiling woman managing financesThe year 2013 might be one quarter over but it’s still not too late to take steps that could help you improve your finances this year. You should definitely do the obvious such as do discount shopping year round, and I hope you’ve already prepared for this year’s tax changes. But there are 8 other things you could do to improve your financial picture.

1. Pay off debts slowly

If you’ve managed to accumulate a large load of debt, it’s practically impossible for you to pay it off overnight and if you try to do this it can be very frustrating. The first thing you should do is change your spending habits and then set up individual savings accounts for each of your goals. You can then start paying off debts when you get these costs under control.

2. Upgrade your bank

The policies of banks can be a lot different. Some will offer interest rates on savings accounts that are better-than-average, while others will make it easy to create and manage a budget with online tools. You should think about how you live and then try to find a bank that matches your lifestyle. For example, if you travel a lot you probably would want a bank that has ATMs all over the U.S. On the other hand, if your goal is to increase your savings, you should choose a bank that offers the best savings rates.

3. Ask for a raise

The economy seems to be making something of a comeback so this might be a good time for you to ask for a raise. You could check www.salary.com and payscale.com to determine whether or not your income matches up with those of other people in your occupation. If you find it’s less than theirs, you should review what you’ve accomplished in the past year, then show these to your manager and ask that your salary be raised.

4. Cook more

If you don’t know how to cook, you should learn. If you do home cooked meals in place of restaurant and take out meals, you could save lots of bucks this year alone. You say you don’t feel very good trying to cook? Spend some time browsing foodie blogs or with the food channel. This should help you feel better about cooking. You could also invest in good quality pans, pots and even cookbooks, which would make cooking seem more enticing.

5. Do home improvements that have an ROI

Leaky attics, doors and windows can drive your energy bills through the roof. Think about adding more insulation and buying a programmable thermostat. This alone could cut your energy cost by as much as 30% a year. You might also buy some of the new intelligent power strips that will cut the power to your electronic devices when they’re off. Another good option is to buy some LED lights.

6. Learn the fine print of your homeowner’s insurance policy

You don’t want to wait until your home suffers water damage before discovering that your policy won’t cover it. Many homeowners just don’t know about the holes in their homeowners’ policies, which can cause some very unpleasant surprises. For example, most ordinary policies won’t reimburse you for flood damage, earthquake damage or water damage caused by the backup of a sump pump. If you haven’t gotten competitive bids on your homeowners insurance this year, you should definitely do this. Insurance companies are competitive and some will offer amazingly great rates in order to attract new customers.

7. Ask tough questions before you go shopping

Let’s face it. We’re surrounded by temptations and blandishments that make easy to buy an item without thinking seriously about it. There are some questions you should ask yourself before you go shopping. For example, you might ask yourself “can I borrow one, make one or find one used rather than buy it?” “Is this an item I really need?” “If I buy this will it enhance the joy and meaning in my life?” If you can’t answer these questions accurately, you should pass on the item.

8. Make free donations

It’s not necessary to be famously rich to make donations to worthwhile charities. You could donate your blood, CDs and books that have been gently used or some of your time. Many people form “giving circles” with their friends. This would allow you to power up your dollars by giving to good causes together.

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National Debt Relief is one of the largest and best-rated debt settlement companies in the country. In addition to providing excellent, 5-star services to our clients, we also focus on educating consumers across America on how to best manage their money. Our posts cover topics around personal finance, saving tips, and much more. We’ve served thousands of clients, settled over $1 billion in consumer debt, and our services have been featured on sites like NerdWallet, Mashable, HuffPost, and Glamour.

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By clicking "Get Free Quote", you agree that the phone number you are providing may be used to contact you by National Debt Relief (including autodialed and prerecorded calls, as well as text/SMS messages). Msg. and data rates apply, and your consent to such contact is not required for purchase.
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"One of the credit card companies that was collecting on one of m"

Moderate National Debt Relief Caller: Charlotte Transcribed WE 3/28/2021 Charlotte: Our call is recorded. How did you first hear about our National Debt Relief? CESAR: Internet. I believe in either Credit Karma or one of the other sites. Charlotte: What made you decide to work with National Debt Relief as opposed to other providers? CESAR: I heard some good things about them. Actually, one of the credit card companies that was collecting on one of my accounts said they themselves had used National Debt Relief and they were very, very happy. Charlotte: Tell me about the service they gave you. CESAR: The service has been great. It's been pretty transparent. You make your payments. We get you through it. We’ll deal with all the harassing calls and things of that nature and [unclear 0:01:21]. Charlotte: What did you think about the program? CESAR: The program’s been great. [unclear 0:01:30] being able to consolidate like that was one of the biggest things, putting some money back in my pocket at the same time I'm paying off my debts. Charlotte: What was the enrollment experience like for you? CESAR: Simple. Very, very, very easy. They walk you right through it. You basically give them a list of your debts. And I think they just checked my social security number and ran a credit check and added the accounts that we can add. And the ones that we can’t, they still give you some advice on how to settle those. But I thought it was pretty simple. Charlotte: In what ways has the program worked for you? CESAR: Well, like I touched on before, being able to pay my debts while still having some money to breathe, feeling like I'm not in a sinking hole the whole way through it. Charlotte: About where are you in the process? CESAR: I think I'm still very early on. If I'm not mistaken, I'm about a year in. And I believe they've gotten three. At the end of this month, I believe it'll be three accounts that we've closed. And one of them was one of the biggest ones that I had open. So, I'd say I'm well on my way to being debt-free. Charlotte: Can you walk me through the interactions with your negotiator so far? CESAR: The interaction has been far and between. I haven't really had much to do, much to say. They email me when another offer comes through on the account and [unclear 0:03:32] collections. They give me the chance to either accept or decline and go on from there. Charlotte: Do you happen to remember the name of your negotiator by chance? CESAR: I do not, no. Charlotte: How comfortable have you felt so far working with National Debt Relief through this process? CESAR: Very comfortable, very comfortable. And like I said, there haven't been really any hidden fees or things that would kinda strike you as, well, I didn't know this was gonna happen at the beginning. I did have one of the collectors actually file a lawsuit, but I'm not gonna blame National Debt Relief for that. It is what it is. Charlotte: How did National Debt Relief work with you as far as coming up with a payment plan? CESAR: Well, I believe they looked over my financials, my monthly income, my debt, as well as my living expenses. And they determined this is a good amount that we can move forward with and this is the time it'll take to pay off. Charlotte: If you had to rate this experience on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 is you would recommend to friends and 1 is you're pretty dissatisfied, how would you rate them so far? CESAR: I will rate them at a 5. I wish I would have known about this program a long time before. And actually, I had heard of a different program, but I just kept having that nagging, that doubt, that doubt that it would work. If I could go back, I'd be debt-free at this point in time in my life. Charlotte: Would it be okay if I posted your comments as a review on our public website for National Debt Relief? Would that be okay? CESAR: Does it stay anonymous? Charlotte: We only ever use first names. CESAR: Okay. Yeah. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind it at all. Yeah. Like I said, one of the biggest takeaways that I've had back in 2017, 2016, 2017-- I was already flooded with debt. It just kept growing, and I couldn't find a way out of it. I was literally taking money from my credit cards just to pay other credit cards. And it was just a revolving door. Had I gone with my gut and just said, “Screw it. I’m gonna apply for this program,” 2021, I’d have been debt-free by now and I'd be in a completely different [situation 0:07:00] than what I am today. Charlotte: I am going to send you a link of your review just to have it as a record at ctorres.8600@gmail.com, just to have it for your own record. We’re recorded.

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Cesar Torres
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