Life isn’t much fun when you’re only just managing to keep your head above water. As one of the millions that have been labelled as JAMs, or families that are just about managing, it’s hard to scrape by for the long term. Still, there are several ways you can tackle this lifestyle head on and make positive moves to a more prosperous future. First, you need to fix the challenges that you’re facing right now.
Credit cards, loans, and big monthly bills can easily suck every penny from your pay cheque. This can leave you with little for food or clothing. You might not be able to afford an annual holiday, and the kids are going without the trendy toys some of their friends are enjoying. What you need to do first is cut the expenses and manage your outgoings. Here’s how:
Re-finance
Look at your loan agreements and credit cards. While one or two may have a minimum agreement term on them, chances are you could shop around and get a better deal. When you’re looking for alternative secured homeowner loans, check the interest rate and repayment term are more favourable than the ones you have at the moment. Of course, you can use this kind of loan to clear other less favourable financial agreements too. Shop around and pick the products that best suit your circumstances without costing you more.
Clear The Credit Card
Did you know that most credit cards have much bigger interest rates than other loans? Worst still, they have no repayment terms! What you bought several years ago but never cleared from the card could have cost you hundreds of pounds more than the purchase price by now. Aim to get a zero balance here every month so that three hundred pound grocery shop doesn’t become thousands.
(Almost) Never Pay Full Price
To make your hard-earned pound stretch much further, you could use discount codes and vouchers to reduce the cost of many of the things you need to buy. Use comparison websites and shop around for everything that you need to purchase to see if you can find a lower price elsewhere. This is one of the best ways to buy much more for your money. You could aim to put all the pennies and pounds you save into a savings account like an ISA to cover that holiday or any nasty bills that come your way.
Living Within Your Means?
Most JAMs are only just managing to survive on their income because their income is low. Of course you’re living within your means. However, a few tweaks to your lifestyle might alter the meaning of the term for you personally. Leave the car at home a day or two a week to reduce your petrol costs. Enjoy lots of family days out in free places like public gardens and woodland. Change what it costs you to enjoy your lifestyle.
It’s never easy to cope, regardless of your income. Earning more is rarely an option for busy parents. But you can avoid the JAM label with a few tweaks and changes. Stop the struggle today.
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