Budgeting Tips for Young Couples

by David Keegan

3) Credit Cards: NO! - While I believe in using debt to buy a house, I do not endorse the use of credit for most other purposes. If you can’t pay off those bills on a monthly basis, don’t charge it! Credit card debt will kill your long-term financing, will create a bigger and bigger financial burden, and will put more pressure on your marriage relationship. To illustrate this, let’s take a simple example. Let’s say you decide to “loosen the belts” a little and charge a big screen TV and take a nice vacation. The $5,000 bill doesn’t seem very big and besides all your friends are doing it. After you get back from the sunny beach, you start writing monthly $200 checks to your credit card company. You didn’t realize it would take 32 months to completely pay for those two purchases. Your credit card company is happy because, with your 18% interest rate, they will make about $1,400 in interest. That’s money that could have been earning interest in your investment account. It could get worse. What if, during month 16 of your repayment plan, your car breaks down and you are facing some major repairs. Since you don’t have money in the bank, you need to pay the $2,500 bill with your credit card! Now, you are in roughly the same position you were when you started paying off the TV and vacation 16 months ago! So, plain in simple: If you can’t pay it off each month, don’t charge it!

4) Start an On-line Business - Sometimes, managing your expenses isn’t good enough. In today’s day of outsourcing and tightening corporate budgets, some creativity may be necessary. You could get a second job outside the home, but this will eventually take its toll on family life. I would recommend researching various internet business options. As with most journeys, the hardest part is taking that first step. You should start your research in various on-line business forums, web sites and discussion groups. You will soon find that there are many reputable on-line resources available to help get your business started.

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Dave Keegan has been married to his wife, Dawn, for 17 years. They have two teenage children. Dave works full-time as a systems analyst for a large corporation and has quality ideas for helping people get started in internet marketing. For more information, visit: www.dkeeganonline.com/pbi

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