The party has been over for a few weeks, the last of the Christmas decorations are safely stored away for another year and January, with its long winter evenings slowly slips away.
But, there is a sting in the tail in the form of lingering debt left over from the Christmas spending splurge.
Across Ireland, even people that approach the festive season with the best of spending intentions can end up with a bundle of debt. After all, it is so easy to spend nowadays. Tap and go and up goes the debt-o-metre. It’s only when credit card bills arrive do most people have that inevitable flashback. It comes in the form of Amount DUE! Pay by Date. And if you want to avoid hefty interest charges, you better make the DUE date!
Create a budget
Creating a budget can be a great way to restore and maintain financial order to your household. But in order to be an effective budgeteer, you need to have some structure…and some goals. Both structure and goals go hand-in-hand but it’s good to list them out before you begin. This way, when the pain of operating under a financial straight-jacket seems unbearable, you can remind yourself why you are torturing yourself. For this, list all of the money you earn along with the details of what you spend your money on. Here, while it is critical you accurately record how much you earn and how much you spend (weekly and monthly), it is also important you question how much you earn and how much you spend and ask if you can do better.
On the matter of income, while you might think there is little you can do, this would be wrong. For example, it is estimated that anywhere up to €700 million of taxes go unclaimed by Irish people every year. Are you one of them? If you are unsure, consider the following:
Claim back on un-reimbursed medical costs. It is estimated that some €700 - €800 Million in tax relief goes unclaimed each year. Check out Revenue.ie for more details.
Home Carers tax relief of €1,200. A Home Carer Tax Credit can be claimed when: The married couple or civil partners are jointly assessed for tax. One spouse or civil partner works in the homecaring for one or more dependent people. A reduced tax credit applies if the carer's income is between €7,200 and €9,600. Check out www.revenue.ie or www.citizensinformation.ie for more details.
Flat rate expenses - Flat-rate expenses are those that cover the cost of equipment employee need for work. This equipment may include tools, uniforms and stationery. Employees must incur these costs in performing the duties of their employment, and the costs must be directly related to the nature of their employment. Flat-rate expenses are available to a wide range of professions. You can find details on the flat-rate expenses list at Revenue.ie.
Outline a payment plan
Make a list of all the money you owe. You'll need this information to identify how much of your budget you will have to set aside for debt repayment. For each credit card or debt include the amount owed, the interest rate, the minimum payment amount and the date the payment is due. Pay off your high interest debt first Identify the debt with the highest interest rate. Make the monthly minimum payments to all of your other debts and use the rest of your debt payment budget on the high interest debt. Do that every month until the first debt is paid. Then move to the debt with the next highest interest rate and repeat the process. Pay off high interest debt Chances are you used a credit card to pay for some Christmas spending. Sometimes, it could make more financial sense to pay off expensive long-term debt with a shorter-term loan with a lower rate of interest. The trick is to reduce the rate of interest you pay. Use our online loan calculator to help you work out some of the numbers.
Plan for the next year
When making your budget, include savings for the upcoming holidays, birthdays and even Christmas. Each month put a little money into a saving account. When it's time to start spending, you should have an opportunity to give the credit cards a break.
The party has been over for a few weeks, the last of the Christmas decorations are safely stored away for another year and January, with its long winter evenings slowly slips away.
But, there is a sting in the tail in the form of lingering debt left over from the Christmas spending splurge.
Across Ireland, even people that approach the festive season with the best of spending intentions can end up with a bundle of debt. After all, it is so easy to spend nowadays. Tap and go and up goes the debt-o-metre. It’s only when credit card bills arrive do most people have that inevitable flashback. It comes in the form of Amount DUE! Pay by Date. And if you want to avoid hefty interest charges, you better make the DUE date!
Create a budget
Creating a budget can be a great way to restore and maintain financial order to your household. But in order to be an effective budgeteer, you need to have some structure…and some goals. Both structure and goals go hand-in-hand but it’s good to list them out before you begin. This way, when the pain of operating under a financial straight-jacket seems unbearable, you can remind yourself why you are torturing yourself. For this, list all of the money you earn along with the details of what you spend your money on. Here, while it is critical you accurately record how much you earn and how much you spend (weekly and monthly), it is also important you question how much you earn and how much you spend and ask if you can do better.
On the matter of income, while you might think there is little you can do, this would be wrong. For example, it is estimated that anywhere up to €700 million of taxes go unclaimed by Irish people every year. Are you one of them? If you are unsure, consider the following:
Claim back on un-reimbursed medical costs. It is estimated that some €700 - €800 Million in tax relief goes unclaimed each year. Check out Revenue.ie for more details.
Home Carers tax relief of €1,200. A Home Carer Tax Credit can be claimed when: The married couple or civil partners are jointly assessed for tax. One spouse or civil partner works in the homecaring for one or more dependent people. A reduced tax credit applies if the carer's income is between €7,200 and €9,600. Check out www.revenue.ie or www.citizensinformation.ie for more details.
Flat rate expenses - Flat-rate expenses are those that cover the cost of equipment employee need for work. This equipment may include tools, uniforms and stationery. Employees must incur these costs in performing the duties of their employment, and the costs must be directly related to the nature of their employment. Flat-rate expenses are available to a wide range of professions. You can find details on the flat-rate expenses list at Revenue.ie.
Outline a payment plan
Make a list of all the money you owe. You'll need this information to identify how much of your budget you will have to set aside for debt repayment. For each credit card or debt include the amount owed, the interest rate, the minimum payment amount and the date the payment is due. Pay off your high interest debt first Identify the debt with the highest interest rate. Make the monthly minimum payments to all of your other debts and use the rest of your debt payment budget on the high interest debt. Do that every month until the first debt is paid. Then move to the debt with the next highest interest rate and repeat the process. Pay off high interest debt Chances are you used a credit card to pay for some Christmas spending. Sometimes, it could make more financial sense to pay off expensive long-term debt with a shorter-term loan with a lower rate of interest. The trick is to reduce the rate of interest you pay. Use our online loan calculator to help you work out some of the numbers.
Plan for the next year
When making your budget, include savings for the upcoming holidays, birthdays and even Christmas. Each month put a little money into a saving account. When it's time to start spending, you should have an opportunity to give the credit cards a break.