Make A Change

1. Pledge to Change How You Feel About Money

The first and most important step in developing and following a financial plan is to examine your attitudes about money. Are you ready to accept responsibility for changing your financial situation? Do you believe that you can and will change the way you make financial decisions? Can you identify at least one benefit you hope to gain by changing your money management behavior? You are definitely ready and able to start your path to financial wellness. If you are also willing to take the pledge for change.

2. Get Organized

After you make your pledge, it’s time to get financially organized. Once you are organized, you will see your whole financial picture. Proper planning and discipline will help you make choices that will lead you to sound financial management of your finances. Start with your financial record keeping such as your income and expenses. All papers associated with your income and expenses should be kept in a safe place. Next consider organizing your legal documents. This can include wills, health care proxy and power of attorney. Once you have your finances organized, you can feel good about moving forward and taking your next steps to financial health.

3. Get Copies of Your Credit Report

Your credit reports can provide a valuable snapshot of your overall financial situation. Reviewing your credit reports for accuracy can also help you to identify errors or fraudulent activity. The Fair and Accurate Transactions Act gives every consumer the right to receive a free credit report every year from each of the credit bureaus. To check your report as often as you want sign up with a monitoring service. Credit karma offers a free service for this. To get your free report visit annual credit report dot com or you may call them at 877-322-8228.

4. Dispute Any Erroneous Information On Your Credit Report

If you find an error on your credit reports, you are protected under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the credit bureaus are required to provide correct and complete information to companies requesting a consumers credit history. If you find an error on your report, simply follow the steps we use at Community Credit Repair. Write to the the credit reporting agency disputing the item and include any supporting documentation. Keep a copy of everything you send for your files.

When the credit reporting agency receives your letters disputing the item or items, they must investigate the item in dispute. This is usually completed within 30 days. By law the creditor in dispute must review your evidence and report its findings back to the credit bureau. The credit bureau must then give you a written report of its investigation and a copy of your report. If the report results in a change, you can also fill out an online dispute form provided by the credit bureaus. If an item on you report is found to be an error and is corrected, you can request that the credit bureau send corrected copies of your report to any creditor who received your report in the previous six months or any employer who received your report in the previous two years.

5. Set Financial Goals

Setting financial goals is an important step to financial health. Before you set goals, follow some rules set by Community Credit Repair your Las Vegas credit repair company. First goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

I WILL PAY OFF $5,000.00 IN UNSECURED DEBT

• S = SPECIFIC; DEFINED GOAL
• M = MEASURABLE; I WILL ALLOW $100 PER MONTH FOR THAT PAYMENT
• A = ACHIEVABLE; I CAN ACHIEVE THIS IF I CUT BACK ON MY EXPENSES, MY CABLE TV AND MY CELL PHONE BILL
• R = REALISTIC; INSTEAD OF BUYING BOOKS OR RENTING MOVIES I WILL USE MY LOCAL LIBRARY AND ATTEND FREE EVENTS
• T = TIMELY; I WILL HAVE MY CREDIT CARD DEBT PAID OFF IN 30 MONTHS

6. Set Short, Mid And Long Term Goals

When establishing goals, you may want to break them down even further. Into short term, mid term, and long term goals. Goals will differ in length of time needed to achieve them. Enlisting Community Credit Repair your Las Vegas credit repair company can help you achieve your goals quicker. Short term goals are priorities and should be accomplished within one year. Mid-term goals are priorities that should be accomplished within a two to five year time line. Long term financial goals are priorities that may take more than five years to accomplish. Community Credit Repair your Las Vegas credit repair company can help prioritize you goals.

7. Track Your Spending

Most consumers find tracking how and where their money is being spent tedious, it’s critically important to achieving financial health. You should track your spending for a minimum of 30 days before developing a budget. If you don’t, it can be difficult to really determine what your monthly expenses are. Community Credit Repair your Las Vegas credit repair company recommends that you track your spending until you fell completely comfortable with knowing where your money is being spent.

There are many ways to track your spending. You can use a notebook and jot down every time you spend money. Another option is to keep all receipts, and then later sort and track them in an excel file or in a daily calendar. Either way, the first thing you need to determine is where your money is going.

9. Reduce Spending

Reducing your daily, weekly and monthly spending is crucial in achieving financial health and an instrumental step to successful budgeting. You would be amazed at how much you can reduce your spending just by tracking what you are spending your money on.

Once you have determined what you are spending your money on, decide on where you can cut back to help support your new financial plans. There is an abundance of ways to reduce spending. At Community Credit Repair your Las Vegas credit repair company we will go over your options.

10. Determine Your Net Worth

Determining net worth can help you measure your progress over time. The more you can save, the greater your net worth will be. Net worth is determined by subtracting your liabilities from your assets. Liabilities include major expenses and debt. Periodically evaluating your net worth can also help you in making financial decisions.