Four steps you can take to ensure a bad situation doesn’t get worse.
This economy is hard for anyone, regardless of your credit score. Right now, the hardening economic situation includes
- Inflation, raising prices at the pump and in the grocery
- College debt payments restarted
- Rising interest rates and increasingly strict guidelines make loans harder to get
When you add it all up, it means hard-working people are going to continue to pay more money for things they need, while staying within a budget that may have already been strapped in the first place.
For some folks, a loan or credit card access provides an extra source of cash flow when things get tight. But if you have a lower credit score, you may not always find a solution at the bank’s lending office.
There are some things you can do to help knock this economical curve ball out of the park:
1). Get a loan or credit card.
If you have a low credit score, check out your local credit union, like us at the Ashland Community Credit Union. We make our own local decisions based on more than just your credit number. If you’ve been turned down elsewhere, or been forced to accept unfairly high interest rates give us a call.
2). Reallocate your budget.
There is only so much money to go around. Create a new budget with new and realistic limits, including the increased prices you’re being forced to pay for necessities and commitments.
3). Cut unnecessary expenses.
Find monthly subscriptions you don’t use or forgot you have, knock off that extra coffee trip, or eat out one night less. Look for ways to save, and you’ll find them.
4). Consider debt consolidation. Again, a low credit score will gain more traction with a local lender like the Ashland Community Credit Union. Consolidating multiple high-rate credit cards into one lower-rate payment over a longer span of time may lower your monthly debt expenses, leaving more cash flow to battle inflation or pay college loans.
Budgeting can be challenging, especially when dealing with a lower credit score, but it's not impossible. These steps can help you keep your feet underneath you in a slippery economy.
Economic conditions will change and should improve someday. In the meantime, remember that you have a friend in the Ashland Community Credit Union. Ask us for help and let’s work together.
