If paying down debt is also a priority, you'll want to examine your personal budget to decide how much to direct each month toward investing and how
much toward debt repayment.
By putting your retirement
savings toward debt repayment, you will have to start saving for retirement all over again with less time and money to do so.
The next time you are tempted to order takeout, go shopping for new clothes, or head to the movie theater, think about putting the
money toward your debt repayment instead.
If you've been paying your bills and debts haphazardly until now, you may not know exactly how much — or how little — progress you're
making toward debt repayment each month.
I once heard a caller on a personal finance radio program (the Dave Ramsey show) explain that they had done a home birth in order to put an extra $ 12k
toward their debt repayment program.
You've combed through your budget and you've found extra money to
direct toward debt repayment — which means the time has finally arrived to pay it off.
The good news is you can now take all the money you were
putting toward debt repayment and interest and start building a better financial future by creating a cushion of savings or an emergency fund.
Whether you saved $ 10 by using smart shopping strategies at the grocery store, or whether you canceled your $ 50 - per - month gym membership, put that money
toward your debt repayment.
But if you refinance your home mortgage to a lower mortgage rate and payment, taking the money you save each month and putting
it toward debt repayment may be all you need to get out of the woods.
Her total annual expenses, including what she puts
toward debt repayment, come to $ 22,456, leaving her with only a few hundred dollars to spare.
Unexpected expenses like major car repairs or high medical co-pays will affect the amount you can put
toward debt repayment or retirement (unless you have an emergency fund that will cover some or all of the cost).