Here try this..

Answer these questions as honestly as you can. If you need to ask a friend or someone else close to you for their perspective, then do it. Because the only way to fix an impulsive spending addiction is to come to grips with it. To recognize what the triggers are that cause you to not know how to stop spending money on things you don’t need.

So here we go…

1.) Does your partner complain that you are always spending too much money?

2.) Are you often surprised when your credit card bills arrive at just how much more you spent than you thought that you had?

3.) Do you have more “stuff” than you could ever need? I not asking if you are a hoarder here, but do you have clothes in your closet that you have never worn and forgot you had?

4.) Do you own every new gadget on the market? Aka, do you find yourself camping out in those lines on the news with other “fanatics” before a product has even hit the stores shelf?

5.) Do you find yourself suddenly desperate to buy things you didn’t even know you wanted until you saw them in a store, commercial or your neighbors hand?

If you find yourself answering yes to any of these questions, you are a candidate for being an impulse spender or at the minimum indulge in “retail therapy” and you need to focus on how to stop spending money on things that you don’t need.

As someone trying to get out of debt, impulse spending defeats the goals you need to be working toward. When you are spending too much money outside of your plan (ie. budget), it obviously  prevents you from saving for the important things that ARE in your financial plans like a house, a new car, a vacation or retirement.

The only way to resist spending money on items that really don’t matter in the long run is to keep your focus on the more important long term financial goals.

And even worse than spending money you don’t have and going deeper into debt, impulse spending also will derail your relationships too.

And to overcome the problem?

You MUST learn to distinguish clearly between your needs and your wants.

It’s funny because as easy as that sounds, it just isn’t. Advertisers constantly blitz us with their “must have” products 24 hours a day. The trick to beating them at their own game is to give yourself a “cooling-off” period before you buy anything that you have not planned for.

At least for me, if I can hold off long enough to get out of the store, the desperation I feel for the new whizy-ma-bob, usually subsides enough for clearer thinking to prevail. So figuring out how to stop spending money is a short term problem that I can easily solve by removing myself from the situation.

If you just can’t stop yourself, then when you go shopping, make a detailed list and only take enough money to pay for what is on your shopping list.

Of course you have to leave your credit cards at home or it defeats the purpose. That little sliver of plastic will conspire against you with that awesome whizy-ma-bob.

And that is the simple plan of how to stop spending money impulsively! Now, what are some ways you hold back from buying everything in site?

To leave this article “How to Stop Spending Money” and return to the Christian Debt Solutions home page, just click here!

If you read my article answering the question “Is Christian Bankruptcy Okay?”, then you will know that I am not totally against filing bankruptcy, it’s just that it causes so much damage that I think you should avoid it if there are any other options.

So with that said, I thought I would give you 4 bankruptcy alternatives to show you how to avoid Christian bankruptcy that you may not have considered.

These are real christian debt solutions that can save you the financial devastation that going bankrupt can cause.

#1 Stay away from debt. I know it seems simple, but it needs to be said. In today’s financial climate, staying away from debt is the single best option to help you avoid Christian bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, I am guessing that since you are are here, it is too late for that, right? No problem, here are 3 other solutions to your debt problems.

#2 Christian Credit Counseling. Sometimes all you need is a push in the right direction. In most cases, a little help from a professional debt counseling company can help you set up a budget, get on a reasonable repayment plan with your  credit cards and ultimately get debt free while still being able to avoid bankruptcy.

#3 Christian Debt Consolidation. With a good consolidation plan, you can shrink your credit card debt monthly payment to a manageable amount that can be easily payed down over time. Here the company you choose to consolidate with will contact your creditors, negotiate lower payments and interest rates and handle all of your payments. A pretty sweet deal as long as you understand this one debt consolidation warning.

#4 Christian Debt Settlement. With settlement you are essentially negotiating with your creditors to take a one time reduced payment to clear your debt away. If you have a reserve of money, this may be a valid option for you. But if you are like me, when I was in over my head in debt, a large reserve of cash wasn’t an option to providing the Christian debt relief I could live with.

So if you are a Christian considering either chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy, please consider these 4 debt management options first. They could save you years of financial regret and are a real option to helping us avoid Christian bankruptcy.

Good luck and let me know what you decide!

Now when you consolidate wisely with professional Christian credit counseling, it can actually help you pay off your balances quicker, at a better interest rate, all while improving your overall credit score and at lower monthly payments.

And so, how can we be smart Christians and be sure that we are using consolidation loans to improve our finances instead of to further damage them?

Simple.

Follow these 4 easy Christian Debt Consolidation rules to force the amount you owe to plunge and your freedom to soar!

1. Before you even attempt to arrange a debt reduction plan with a debt consolidation company, you must be resolved to NOT get into any additional credit card debt until your current obligations (including your new consolidation loan) are completely paid off.
2. You must commit to paying off your Christian debt consolidation loan as quickly as possible to become debt free. You don’t want to take your current balance due and stretch it out over the next 30 years. Why? Because that is 30 more years of owing someone money!
3. Don’t use debt consolidation services to consolidate fixed rate loans into a variable rate one that can increase over time. Your interest rate on your new combined loan must be lower than the interest rates on the credit cards that you are consolidating. Don’t fall for the trap of moving 10%-12% interest rates to a 15% interest rate just because the payment might be lower. That is terrible debt management and will NOT lead to any lasting debt relief.
4. Know your debt consolidation companies options. With good debt counseling you can review debt settlement and other Christian debt consolidation programs to know which one will provide the Christian credit debt solution for your situation.

So do you think debt consolidation might be right for you? Still not sure?

Either way, you may want to get the advice of a trustworthy nonprofit credit counseling service. This is even more true the more bills you plan on consolidating. If you don’t, you could find yourself on the wrong side of an expensive blunder.

Want To Avoid The Scams Online?

You need to be cautious of online offers for both Christian debt consolidation and regular consolidation services. They can easily turn out to be ridiculously expensive and often even full fledged scams.

Here are the warning signs to watch out for.

1. Never pay upfront money to a company just because they promise to loan you “more than enough money to pay off your bills”.
2. Never consolidate though finance companies. You will pay higher interest rates, more fees and in the long run damage your credit rating more than without consolidating.
3. And never trust a company that says they will negotiate with all of your creditors for you and then loan you enough to pay of the lower balances that they negotiated. All you have to do is send them money monthly to cover your “new loan”.

I know, some of these “warnings” may seem obvious, but when you are in over your head and creditors are breathing down your neck, even a bad solution might be tempting.

Good luck finding the right Christian debt consolidation loan for you!

And let me know who you used.

But even with all of the alternatives available, you should not eliminate Christian bankruptcy lawyers as holding an option for your financial freedom either.

There is the Christian approach that would disagree that filing bankruptcy is an acceptable option by saying that “only the wicked do not repay what they borrow”. But their rendering of this Psalm is too hard on the debtor side and gives too much of a pass to the creditors.

Well, if you find the right household budget software, staying on top of your finances will be easy.

So what should you look for?

Well, first of all, free is good. I mean, if you are planning to live on a budget, why set aside part of your money just to  have a tool to track your money. Know what I mean?

Secondly, I think you need a mix of a powerful spreadsheet software and a easy to use financial calculator to round out your online budgeting software.

Lastly, personal finance software needs to be easy to access, use and provide relevant information to help you make decisions in your money management.

There are 3 online tools that I think are the trifecta of online budgeting software awesomeness.

First is Mint.com. Here you have all of the most important features at hand. It’s free. It is easy to set up (you don’t even have to download it). It let’s you track by category, expense and nearly any other method that you want. It even let’s you compare your spending habits with those of other Mint users.

Second is IsDueOn.com which is a free bill notifier. You never have to worry about being late on a bill again because you legitimately forgot. Is Due On send you a text or email message just before your bill is due.

And third but definately not least, Xpenser.com, similar to mint give you all of the power of standard budgeting software, but one really cool feature is that you can log your expenses by email, voicemail, IM or twitter. So you never have to worry about loosing a receipt again (even for business). Just email your account as you are walking out of the store.

Well that’s it for free online budgeting software, let me know what you think once you have tried them out.

‘Debt Cures’ goes into detail about the banks and others that are working together to ensure the average person continues to sink deeper into debt just so they can make obscene amounts of money from the interest that you owe to them.

What’s great is that Christian credit counseling involves a professional counselor negotiating with your creditors to create a money management plan that will work for you. In fact, Christian financial counseling is a  debt help solution that can help you get rid of not only credit cards, but also car loans, payday loans, medical bills and even, believe it or not, some utilities.

Now, Christian credit counseling does not involve you getting a loan like Christian debt consolidation, Negotiating a debt settlement payment or even filing for bankruptcy.

Credit counseling is all about you learning to manage your money.

Your free professional consumer credit counselor will offer you advice on how to deal with your debts better and avoid negative items showing up on your credit report.

First a good Christian credit counseling service will help you figure out how much debt you owe. Secondly, your counseling agency will help to bring any delinquent accounts current while at the same time negotiating down you interest rates. And then, they will teach you how to manage your debts in the future.

Here is the sad thing, the main factor holding most consumers back from getting started with debt management today is that they assume that the amount of debt they have relative to their income (the debt to income ratio) would disqualify them from getting help. And so they go farther into debt because they are afraid to enroll in a reputable credit counseling plan.

And the truth is that the best Christian credit counseling services are there to help people just like that. People who are behind on their debts, but desperately want to get back on their feet

And for the Christian who is concerned about “stealing” from their lenders, debt relief through consumer credit counseling can be the absolutely best route to take, especially if you have no idea on how to move forward on your own.

You really do get the best of both worlds (so to speak). You get relief that allows you to “afford” your monthly payments, while at the same time, you are paying back your full debts in a way that completely satisfies your lenders.

The nice thing is that everything can be done right over the phone, so there is no need to “come face to face” with any one. It will just be you and a counselor who is willing to teach you everything you need to know about getting and living debt free!

Are you ready to learn? Do you want to get the late payments, the over the limit fees and the harassing calls behind you? Most importantly do you want someone to take you by the hand, lead you out of debt and teach you how to never find yourself in a financial mess again?

Then you might want to sign up for free debt counseling today and start a conversation with real Christian consumer credit counselors.  I mean, why wait?

If you do, please let me know how Christian Credit Counseling goes for you!

You know the signs that it is time to call for consumer credit counseling help, right? But do you know how to maximize the help that your counselor can offer you?

If not, here you go.

There are 5 key pieces of information you need to gather before you talk to your professional consumer credit counselor. All are easy to get and you can even make your appointment and have plenty of time to pull these things together before you start developing your debt management plan with your Christian credit counseling services.

1. You need to know your total debt amount (both secured and unsecured debt).  This doesn’t have to be exact, but a close approximation is fine. When your Christian credit counseling services start contacting your credit card companies they will be able to get the exact amounts.

2. You need to know your interest rates. The closer you are here the better, so grab those bills from all of your credit cards that you have piling up and go ahead open them up and take a look.  If you are anything like me, it isn’t too uncommon to have a couple from each company laying around. Last month’s that I was just getting ready to pay and another one that came too soon for this month.

3. While you have those bills open, make note of your minimum payment. Not necessarily your current minimum payment because it might include late fees and over the limit fees, but what is the payment if you were up to date. This will help your Christian credit counselors know approximately how much your creditors are looking for each month.

4. You will need to know your other bills, payments and financial obligations that you have. This will be vital in determining your budget and also deciding how much you can afford to pay.

5. And lastly, how much do you make. Take into account your total income, but be conservative. There is no use in trying to impress your Christian credit counseling services here. If anything you want to go in a little low so that you build a cushion into your budget.

And that’s it.

The 5 pieces of information are enough to help a professional counselor do their thing.

And when they do their thing, you end up debt free. Ahhh… and the debt relief that comes from being financially free is good.

Do you have questions about Christian credit counseling services, drop them in the comments or use the page above.

Step #1 of determining the right debt relief program for you is to realize if your bill problems were created by life happening to you (ie. medical, layoff, emergency, ect.) or if YOU are the source of your financial woes and the reason that you even need credit card debt relief.

If it was life, then that’s easy, skip to step #2.

But if you are the source of your credit card debt problems, then you have to get you under control. Whether that means debt counseling or some other debt management program, you have to get yourself under control. Otherwise, there is nothing that will help you… sorry.

Okay step #2 Are you willing to work your way out of your money mess? Are
you willing to take a second job, learn a new skill that will help you make more money or even find a new job with a higher income? If yes, then you are set. Debt relief program are a reasonable option.

If not, if you have a lazyness problem. If you are not willing to go the extra mile to get caught up, well, you are probably stuck. Your situation is probably going to get worse and quite honestly, you are wasting your time even dreaming of being debt free. Don’t worry about debt consolidation loans or credit counseling.

No company can perform a debt reduction miracle ON YOU.

You should probably get friendly with the collection agencies and bankruptcy.

Again, sorry to be harsh, but it really is going to take you working hard to get the debt help you want. Whether it is with debt settlement relief services or debt consolidation companies, the person who is willing to work has a chance of eliminating even the highest interest rates, but the one who won’t, well… it doesn’t end well for them.

I am guessing if you are here, trying to learn, you are willing to put the effort into your future… so good luck with your debt relief program and please, let me know how it goes.

What is exciting is that it is actually possible to get out of debt. And you can certainly live debt free no matter how much credit card debt you owe.

But first you have to come to the realization that by just making your minimum payments your debt is not going to just vanish overnight. Just like it took time to rack up all that debt, it is going to take time, maybe even years, to work it off.

And winning the lottery is not a valid debt relief plan.

Getting out from under your credit card debts will take patience and determination.  Oh, and the down side, you have to learn how to stop using your credit cards and getting in more debt.

If you are committed to that, then work out how much you have to spend. This includes looking at ways to decrease your expenses and increase your income so that you not only have enough to live on, to pay your essential bills and make the minimum monthly payments on your debts, but also to start attacking your debt. You may even need to cut out any repeat billings that are not strictly necessary, like cable tv, gym memberships or news and magazine subscriptions.

After that, start to save. Before you can start the debt snowball you should make sure to have a minimum emergency fund of $500 – $1000 depending on if you are a single person getting out of debt or a family.

That money is for emergencies ONLY! Don’t use it on food or rent or any of the other basics, you have to cover those expenses from your income, but instead it is there for real emergencies like to repair your car if it breaks down or an unexpected illness.

Although the exact amount is not critical, the idea of having some money in a savings account is, so that when an emergency occurs, you will not have to borrow or use the money that you need for your planned debt snowball monthly payments.

After you have your expenses and income under control and your safety savings amount, you can start the debt snowball.

First, make a list of all of your debts, no matter how small. You have to include everything that needs to be repaid, even $5 that you borrowed from a friend. You might consider using the debt snowball calculator to help you arrange you debt repayment according to the next step.

Next arrange the list in order by the total amount you owe starting with the smallest balance and going up to the largest. You should end up with a list of debts that starts with the $5 you owe your friend and ends with your mortgage or whatever your biggest loan is. Remember this is about the TOTAL amount you owe, not the minimum monthly payments.

Now you will take any extra money that you have each month, the money that you were putting toward your emergency savings fund before – and start to pay off those debts, beginning with the smallest debt first.

I know, some personal finance information says to start with the highest interest rate debts first and while I agree in theory, it really doesn’t work in the real world because we are not motivated by things like living on a budget or saving a few pennies here and there with a practical “debt management” plan.

What gets us going is the sense of achievement that comes whenever we can cross even one small debt off our list.

Think about it, how would it feel handing that $5 to your friend compared to putting it toward the minimum payment on one of your bigger debts. The goal of the debt snowball is to keep you motivated to pay off your debts by having you actually experience the success of achievement associated with closing out a burdensome debt as often as possible, especially in the beginning.

And what is great is that as you go you can even make it a “game” and maximize the feeling you get by giving yourself a treat to look forward to whenever you pay off a debt. Of course you shouldn’t make it an expensive treat, but a little something you can enjoy adds to the excitement.

As a couple of family, the treat can make the saving and cutting back well worth it.

And after you experience the relief of paying off the first few debts, the snowball effect will make you never want to go back. That is why it is called a debt snowball – you start it off small and then it gets a life of it’s own and starts growing on its own off of the momentum you started at the beginning.

Are you ready to experience real debt reduction with the debt snowball to get yourself the best kind of debt relief? The kind you create yourself!

Want to share your experience with using the idea of the Debt Snowball, then drop a note in the comments below…