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        • A detailed look into my January 2019 budget. Don't just blindly follow a budget. Understand the reasons behind your financial choices, and look at what your budget is telling you.

          January 2019 Budget Recap

          A detailed look into my December 2018 budget. Don't just blindly follow a budget. Understand the reasons behind your financial choices, and look at what your budget is telling you.

          December 2018 Budget Recap

          When thinking about your WHY, it should be something so important that it lights a fire under you. Your level of passion and dedication to your WHY should leave you feeling emotional.

          How to Close Out Your Budget Every Month

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        • My hope through this blog post, I can show you that MLM can be a legitimate source of supplemental income that has its perks over a more “traditional” career or your average side hustle.

          How MLM Has Changed My Life for the Better & How It Could for You Too

          Living on a budget is great. Unless, of course, it’s not. Because sometimes even living within your budget calls for more money than you’re bringing in.

          10 Legitimate Ways to Make Extra Income from Home

          Are you ready to save in the new year? Let's save more of our dollars by completing a different savings challenge for every month in 2019!

          12 Months = 12 Savings Challenges

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        • Does it feel like you just can’t get ahead when it comes to money? Even now that you’re earning more, there still seems to be nothing left over to help you get out of debt or save for the future? Your finances may be the victim of lifestyle inflation.

          Lifestyle Inflation: Getting What You Deserve

          A realistic view into my $400 per month meal plan! Get every recipe that I used in my January meal plan, my grocery lists, costs, and so much more! Read about how I am utilizing my Instant Pot to save time and money!

          January 2019 Budget Monthly Meal Plan

          Are you looking for ways to save money on your grocery budget? Try completing the Freezer Challenge, and start eating what you already have at home.

          Save Money Meal Planning: The Freezer Challenge

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        • How I paid off over $77,000 of debt in less than a year. During my financial journey, telling myself, "it's impossible" was never an option. You have to believe in yourself enough to strive for the unimaginable.

          My Debt Story – Accomplishing the Unimaginable

          Should you consolidate your debt? Before using a debt consolidation company, make sure you know all of your options. Getting out of debt is all about changing the behavior that got you into debt in the first place, that's where you should start.

          Should You Consolidate Your Debt?

          Refinancing your home can be a serious financial decision. Make sure you know about hidden fees, the interest rate, and other factors before making any decisions.

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        • When thinking about your WHY, it should be something so important that it lights a fire under you. Your level of passion and dedication to your WHY should leave you feeling emotional.

          How to Stay Motivated on Your Financial Journey

          Looking for a financial advisor that will meet all of your unique needs? Explore your options and find out what questions you need to be asking using The Budget Mom's complete guide!

          How to Find the Best Financial Advisor for Your Needs

          Being in debt while you are still working can be a nagging problem and even prevent you from saving for retirement. But carrying that debt into retirement can also be dangerous, and in some cases, even more so. When you are in retirement, you are working with a fixed income. The simple truth is, you can't afford to have a majority of your income eaten up by debt payments. To get the most out of your retirement, you need to make sure you have as much money as possible to fund the lifestyle you desire. Here are three types of debt you should work on eliminating before you retire. Read: How To Save For Retirement When You Are Self-Employed UNSECURED DEBT If you are living with a fixed retirement income, you might not be able to afford to make the extra payments on the money owed. If you are spending years in repayment, much of your fixed-income ends up going to high interest payments. Credit card debt can not only wreck your credit score, but it's also costly to pay off. For example, if you have a credit card with a $5,000 balance with 18% interest, it will take you roughly 84 months to pay it off. Not only that, but you will pay close to $4,320 in interest over that period. HOW TO PAY IT OFF It's best to come up with a plan to eliminate unsecured debt during your working years. An easy approach to paying off credit card debt is to list out your present debts, figure out which cards charge the most interest and pay those off first before moving on to the ones with less interest. Here is a list of articles that will help you come up with a plan to pay off credit card debt: Pay off Debt With the Debt Snowball Method How to Pay Down Debt Using the Avalanche Method How to Create a Plan to Pay Off Debt Taking advantage of balance transfers to eliminate debt faster might also be an option. You can transfer your total balance to a card with a lower interest rate than what you are currently paying to save time and money on interest payments. Read: Saving Money When You Have Debt – What You Need to Know STUDENT LOAN DEBT Student loans are often viewed as a "younger-aged" problem, but the truth is, more and more older Americans are finding themselves on the hook for educational loans. Not only is this debt they took out for themselves, but the major problem is when parents take out loans for their children's education. The process of being accepted for a Parent PLUS loan is minimal. There is only a basic credit check and no underwriting to determine whether the borrower has the income or ability to repay the loans. With emotions involved, it's easy to take on more than you can handle. You may not realize it, but in retirement, even a small amount can prove difficult to repay. Funding your child's education can be an emotional topic. I would love to help my son attend college without feeling financially stressed, but I won't sacrifice my own retirement to do so. Instead, I took another approach and started planning and saving early for his educational costs. Two weeks after my son was born, I opened a UTMA account. Throughout the year, I save my leftover change from my cash spending and invest it in his UTMA at the end of the year. I will save what I can during my working years, and I will help him as much as I can financially, but only to a limit that I can honestly afford. The truth is, helping my son pay for his education is important to me, but he also has more time than me to pay off his student loans. When I am a senior living on a fixed income, I will not be able to generate more money to repay these debts, and I can't replace the retirement savings that I take out for repayment. HOW TO PAY IT OFF When you are in a financial bind, there are different ways to you can repay your student loan debts that make it a little easier on your budget. For example, if you only have Direct Loans, there are Income-Driven repayment plans that allow you to make a monthly payments that is based on your income and family size. If you decide to use one of these options, you have to keep in mind that it will extend the period of time for your loan repayment. I recommend using these options if you are in a financial hard spot, but to make your time on these plan limited. If you can, I recommend sticking to the Standard Repayment Plan, which will pay of your student loans in the shortest amount of time while saving you the most money on interest. Read: Should You Consolidate Your Student Loans? MORTGAGE DEBT Many people who own homes or property take out 30-year mortgages in their early 30s and manage to pay off their loans by the time they retire. But what happens when you buy a home or property later in life? If you end up carrying mortgage debt into retirement, that will make what's already your greatest monthly expenses even more burdensome. Just like with people, the older a home becomes, the more money it costs to keep them "healthy." Dealing with a mortgage payment and the upkeeping costs of owning an older home during retirement can cause substantial income restrictions. If you work on getting rid of your mortgage payment before retirement, that's one significant bill you don't have to worry about. If you can pay off your mortgage before retirement, you can significantly decrease your housing costs, eliminate your biggest expense, and you can make your savings last much longer. If you can, try buying a home on the low-end of what you can afford and avoid refinancing your home, which usually extends your repayment period. HOW TO PAY IT OFF One way to tackle your mortgage debt is by making extra payments to your loan. Think of it this way, the more extra payments you make on your mortgage, the more each one of your regular payments goes straight to the principal balance. Try making an extra house payment every quarter or dividing your mortgage payment by 12 and add that amount to each monthly mortgage payment that you make. Just a word of caution. If you are thinking about making extra mortgage payments, make sure you talk to your mortgage company because they might charge prepayment penalties. When completing an extra mortgage payment, make sure it's getting applied to the principal balance of your loan and not next month's payment. It's critical to take steps to ensure you have an effective debt management strategy in place and to take early action steps to eliminate debt before you retire.

          3 Debts You Should Eliminate Before Retirement

5 Free Apps That Will Motivate and Help You Pay off Debt

January 1, 2018
DEBT & CREDIT

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If you're ready to pay off debt, using an online tool to create a plan and track progress can be a huge help. Here are the best debt payoff apps that I could find for Android and IOS.

When it comes to my finances, I am old-school. I like paper. There’s something about writing things out and holding something physical in my hands.

But when you’re staring at a mountain of debt, using paper and a pencil just won’t cut it.  That’s where technology steps in.

I know what its like to feel overwhelmed, to feel like things are so bad you’re at a loss as to where to start paying it all down. When I began my debt payoff journey, all I had was a list of debt. That’s it. No plan, no strategy, and no clue on how to begin paying it off.

One day, I started to read about the different ways you can pay off debt, and that’s when I discovered debt payoff apps.

Oh man, I went crazy.

There were so many cool apps that showed me so many things, like giving me a date when I would be debt free and how much interest I could save over time using different methods.

Debt repayment apps have the power to help turn your messy pile of debts into a simple list of numbers anyone can tackle. For me, I needed a tool to help me form a debt payoff plan I could execute successfully. Something that made things easier.

If you need to create a plan to pay off your debt. If you need something to motivate you. If you need something that will show you the finish line, the best debt management app can make a huge difference.

Here are five free debt payoff apps that I recommend.

  • Read: Financial Resolutions and How to Achieve Them in the New Year

DEBT PAYOFF PLANNER

Available: IOS & Android / Downloads: 100,000 | 4.2 Rating

If you're ready to pay off debt, using an online tool to create a plan and track progress can be a huge help. Here are the best debt payoff apps that I could find for Android and IOS.

The one thing I love about Debt Payoff Planner is that it allows you to review each method – Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche. For each method, you can see how long it will take to pay off your debt and how much interest you can save using each technique. This is great for people who have yet to decide which payoff strategy they want to use.

For me, the easiest way to stop feeling overwhelmed by debt is by creating a specific, step-by-step plan for paying it off, and this app will help you get there.

There is no login required. You just download the app and start using it. That’s it.

To create a customized debt repayment schedule, you will need the following: Current balance of the debt, the APR, and the minimum payment amount.

Steps You Need to Take:

  1. Enter your loans and debts
  2. Enter any additional monthly payments you can make
  3. Choose a debt payoff strategy
  4. Get your custom free payoff plan

One feature that I love about this app is the ability to track payments. When I make an additional payment towards my debt, outside of the minimum payment, I want to see how it will affect my overall plan. What kind of impact did it make? With Debt Payoff Planner, it will update the time-frame for becoming debt free when you input new payment information. Just type in the amount and the date the extra payment was made. This is an excellent feature if you want to see your progress over time.

  • Read: 4 Things You Need to Do Immediately If You Want to Pay Off Debt

DEBT PAYOFF ASSISTANT

Available: IOS Only / Rating: 4+

If you're ready to pay off debt, using an online tool to create a plan and track progress can be a huge help. Here are the best debt payoff apps that I could find for Android and IOS.

Debt Payoff Assistant focuses paying off debt using the Snowball Method. With this method, you pay off your debts from smallest to largest, regardless of the interest rate. You make the minimum payments on all of your debts until your first debt is paid off. Then you would use the extra payment from the paid off debt and apply if the next debt. The amount of the extra payment will grow as more debts are paid off which results in a “snowball” effect.

A lot of people like using this method because it gives you a sense of accomplishment relatively quickly by tackling and paying off the smallest debt first.

With this app, you can track an unlimited number of debts, and though it does focus mainly on the Snowball Method, you can still choose between multiple payoff strategies: lowest balance first, highest balance first, highest interest first, or a custom plan that you create.

You can also track extra payments. Making extra payments towards your debt will allow you to pay off your debt faster.

One of the main features I like about this app is the charts and graphs. I am a visual person, so seeing my progress in chart-form is great. You can see things like your total debts, debts remaining, total interest paid, and total interest saved. I especially love the percent paid progress bar for each debt. This helps motivate you and gives you a quick way to see your progress for each debt.

Get “payment due” notifications, use their payoff date calculator to see how the monthly payment amount will affect your payoff date and total interest paid, and so much more with this app!

  • Read: 4 Little-Known Ways to Cut Expenses When You’re in Debt

DEBT TRACKER

Available: Android / Downloads: 50,000 | 4.0 Rating

If you're ready to pay off debt, using an online tool to create a plan and track progress can be a huge help. Here are the best debt payoff apps that I could find for Android and IOS.

The free version of Debt Tracker on Android is a great tool to see all of your debts in one place. The one thing that stood out to me about this app is its simplicity. There is no fluff or extra add-ons.

With this app, you can track your debt manually offline. You don’t have to enter account numbers or sensitive bank information to get started. If you don’t mind entering debt manually in exchange for security, then this app is for you. You also keep your data secure on your phone by keeping your debt private with a secret PIN code.

This app has all of the features you need to choose a debt payoff strategy, and start implementing it right away. You can easily organize your debt by name and size. You can also track payments, penalties, and interest fees as you work through your debt payoff plan.

The one thing that makes this different than the two apps listed above is that you can also track who owes you money!

It’s also a savings tracker. Are you saving for a vacation, a car, or something else? With this app, you can track your progress toward other financial goals which allows you to see more of an overall picture of your finances.

  • Read: Pay off Debt With the Debt Snowball Method

CREDIT CARD PAYOFF

Available: Android / Downloads: 5,000 | 4.2 Rating

If you're ready to pay off debt, using an online tool to create a plan and track progress can be a huge help. Here are the best debt payoff apps that I could find for Android and IOS.

If you are only focusing on paying off your credit cards, this is a great app to have. It’s great for defining your payoff goals and does an amazing job calculating monthly payments and gives you tons of motivation by allowing you to see how far one small extra payment can go.

When paying off debt, I like to see comparisons. What does my debt payoff plan look like if I do it this way? Or if I make a minor change and do it this way? What if I add a little extra money to this monthly payment? What happens to my debt payoff time horizon?

This app does a fantastic job of letting you see those comparisons. It allows you to create a new monthly payment schedule on one tab and keeps your current payment schedule on another tab. You can then see the changes between principal, interest, monthly charges, and remaining balance for each payment tab.

It’s a great app for figuring out how much to pay each month to pay off your credit card entirely in “x” amount of months. If you have a date you would like to be “credit card” debt free; this app will tell you exactly what you need to do to get there.

  • Read: How to Create a Plan to Pay Off Debt

UNBURY.ME

Available: Online

If you're ready to pay off debt, using an online tool to create a plan and track progress can be a huge help. Here are the best debt payoff apps that I could find for Android and IOS.

This tool is only available online but it’s so good I had to mention it. It’s a smart tool that lets you explore different debt repayment options. The best thing about this tool is that it gives you clear graphs that make it easy to understand and visualize the benefits of each, even if you’re not a money nerd.

You don’t have to log in to use the tool, but if you would like to be a returning user, you can sign up to keep track of ongoing debt repayments.

If you have multiple forms of debts such as school loans, car loans, credit cards, and a mortgage I highly suggest using this tool. This tool is best used for comparing different types of methods.

Throughout my debt repayment journey, I have downloaded and used at least ten different tools. The best piece of advice I can give you for you to be successful is…do your research first. Find the app or tool that will work best for your situation and stick to it.  Don’t bounce around between tools. This will become overwhelming, and eventually, you will lose interest. Trust me; I’ve been there.

Use a tool like unbury.me and find the method you would like to use to pay off your debt. From there, use one of the apps listed above to track your debt repayment progress. Enter in all extra payments and see how it affects your overall plan. The most important thing is sticking with it.

Have you used a debt repayment app? Which one do you like best and why? Let me know about it in the comments below!

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kumiko Ehrmantraut

kumiko Ehrmantraut

A little about me: I love helping women take charge of their financial lives. As an Accredited Financial Counselor, I love teaching about money management and realistic budgeting. Away from the computer, you can usually find me behind a camera lens or coloring with my 4-year-old son.Want to share your financial journey with me? Tag @thebudgetmom on Instagram or give me a shout-out on Facebook. I WANNA SEE IT!
kumiko Ehrmantraut
kumiko Ehrmantraut

kumiko Ehrmantraut

kumiko Ehrmantraut

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Filed Under: DEBT & CREDIT, Get Out of Debt Tagged With: APPS, DEBT, PAY OFF DEBT, REVIEW

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  1. How to Create a New Budget Every Month: A Detailed Step-by-Step Guide | The Budget Mom says:
    January 8, 2018 at 6:07 am

    […] 5 Free Apps That Will Motivate and Help You Pay off Debt […]

About Kumiko Ehrmantraut

Hello, I'm Kumiko, but everyone just calls me Miko. Welcome to my blog, The Budget Mom. I am an Accredited Financial Counselor® , and mom to a rambunctious 5-year-old boy. Come along with me as I strive to live a life I love on a budget that I can afford. Read more about me.

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