The ball has dropped, the party hats worn, and the champagne bottle is empty. Bid farewell to 2013, and wave hello to 2014.
With the new year comes a fresh start. A new page. New resolutions.
According to a survey by GoBanking.com, saving money and paying down debt were the most popular financially related New Year’s resolutions. And according to a Dec. 30 Forbes post, the resolution to pay down debt has tripled since 2010.
What’s interesting is that when the responses are broken down by income level, both the lowest income bracket ($0-$24,000) and one of the highest ($100,000-$149,000) reported the highest response rate to both saving money and paying down debt.
This reveals that financial issues affect all income levels, and not just those on the lower end of the income ladder.
Saving Money
The 52 Week Money Challenge seems to be a popular and simple way to save money over a year. Each week, put away the designated amount of money. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Paying Down Debt
To jump-start your effort to pay down debt, try paying just $20 more on your credit card bills, loan payments or medical bills. You will be amazed at how fast this little bit adds up.
For example, if you owe $3,300 on a credit card at a 14.96% interest rate, it will take almost 20 YEARS to pay off the debt if you only pay the minimum balance. And it will cost you $7,600! That’s more than double the amount of the debt. By paying just $20 more than the minimum amount, you pay off that card in four and half years, plus you will save about $3,000 in interest fees.
Money Possible 