CCCS of Buffalo - Dare to be Debt Free

 From time to time we like to share some of our staff's suggestions on the best ways to manage your budget. Today we hear from Robby Dunn, Vice President of Counseling here at CCCS of Buffalo! Robby’s Five Financial Budgeting Tips Create a balanced budget - This may seem like very simple personal financial advice, but the road to recovery from debt or the accumulation of savings begins with a balanced budget. This means that you have more money coming in than that is going out every month. Track your income and expenses for 30 days and find out if your budget is balanced!   Consider viewing savings as an expense – Is savings an expense? Many individuals may argue that it is not as it is not necessary to save at all times, or every month. But, if you are saving, what are you putting those funds aside for? Home and Auto repairs? Vacation and gifts? Medical expenses? Those all sound like future expenses to us, and imp...

Opting for a new credit card is a decision that will impact your financial health in one way or another, so it should come with a careful analysis of your personal financial spending habits and goals.  Credit cards can be useful when they are used responsibly, but they can also be harmful if proper care is not taken to use them only when it would make sense to do so. When does getting a credit card make sense? If you want to build or rebuild credit history.   Without sufficient credit history, lenders will likely see you as a higher risk.  If you have limited or no credit, consider a secured card.  To build or rebuild credit with a credit card, it's important to make 100% of your payments on time 100% of the time, and to keep your credit utilization ratio low.  The general recommendation is under around 30%, but people with high credit scores tend to keep it closer to around 10%. If you need help financing a purchase or paying off debt.   Some credit cards ...