Hard times will come no matter who you are and how much you make. Something will happen that you do not expect whether it’s an automobile breakdown, an unexpected illness, a family emergency, a home repair or something else. The important thing is to gather the skills or come up with a plan now so that you’re not completely blindsided and lost when that happens. The following are a few tips that could save you either before or during dire times:
Force Yourself to Put Away Something Each Pay Week
Whether times are good or bad, you have to keep yourself disciplined enough to save money. You can save something, even if it’s a dollar. Open a bank account that is separate from the others and just use it to stash money for future issues. That’s called a cushion, and everybody needs one. Pay yourself first each pay week by putting something away not matter what it is. That little bit of money will grow over time.
Cut Some of Your Expenses
As a human being, you probably have some expenses that are not exactly necessary. Try to think of some activities, memberships or random costs that you could change during times that you need to conserve money. An example of such an expense is a monthly gym expense. Another example is a restaurant expense. You may like to eat out, but that activity costs hundreds of dollars a month. You can give it up during crunch time and have some delicious fruit and vegetable platters. You could shop for your groceries and cook your own foods, as well. Other things that you can do to conserve money are little things like home inspections to make sure your home is properly insulated. That can reduce your electricity bill and put the money away for emergencies. You may also want to jump on a bike and take a ride instead of gasing up your car from time to time.
Consider Some Loans That Can Keep You Afloat
If you don’t have supportive family or friends, you could always try to go the route of a short-term loan. Such a loan could give you the funds that you need to weather a financial storm. Four examples are personal loans, installment loans, payday loans and title loans. These advances have varying qualification criteria. You can find out how each one operates by making an inquiry by phone or contact form. You could also stop by places like Power Finance, a company that specializes in payday loans in San Antonio and ask about the cash advances they provide.
Ask the Job for an Advance
If you’ve been on your job for a long time, you could try to ask your boss for a cash advance. Honestly, not many jobs do this for the obvious reasons, but you may just happen to have a compassionate employer who trusts you enough to help you. It won’t hurt to try because the worst that could happen is that he or she could say no. You may just get the positive answer that you want and need.
Try a Pawn Shop
Pawning is an excellent way to get quick emergency cash without having to worry about losing your items. You can consider taking some of your things to a pawn shop until you get through your difficult times. The shop will offer you a price for your item. It will not be a retail value price, but it can help you through a rough patch. You will have to pay interest on it, but you will be able to come back and get your item within about 30 days if you can repay the loan at that time. Otherwise, the shop has the right to sell it.
Those are just a few ideas for survival during challenging times. Start with one or two of them and then you will think of some more creative ideas on your own. It is possible for you to make it if you use the right resources.
