Are you facing a major life event? Are you interested in the many things you can do to keep your finances in order during this time? Are you concerned about the impact that this event could have on your credit score? There are many major life events that have the potential to change your financial situation forever. Adding to this, if you don’t take the right approach, it could also have a negative impact on your credit score. With this in mind, it’s time to review five major life events during which you should attempt to cut spending. By taking this approach, your finances will remain in order and you won’t have to worry about damaging your credit score.
1. Wedding
Many people believe that having a dream wedding means spending as much money as they can get their hands on (even if it means running up a high credit card bill). This doesn’t have to hold true. There are many ways to plan the wedding of your dreams (and a simple green wedding in nature!), all without going overboard in regards to how much you spend. Don’t let your wedding spending get out of control. You know your budget and you need to stick with it from start to finish.
2. A Baby
Let’s face it, there is nothing more exciting than bringing a baby into the world. Of course, this can also be a big expense. If you’re going to make things work from a financial perspective it’s imperative that you keep a close watch on your spending. The cost of diapers, formula, healthcare, and other expenses can quickly add up. Try reusables, nursing and making your own baby food.
3. Moving
There may come a point when you need to pick up and move to a new city, state, or country. Some people do this while they are still in college, such as for an internship, while others are faced with a move later in life. As excited as you may be about your big move, don’t get too far ahead of yourself. You need to be careful that you don’t bite off more than you can chew from a financial perspective. Moving isn’t cheap, so it’s imperative that you plan in advance. Or get your friends to help instead of paying for costly movers.
4. New Job
Starting a new job has a way of improving your outlook on the future. This is particularly true if you didn’t enjoy your last job. Regardless of how much money you will be making, here’s something to remember: You need to get your feet wet before you let your new job have too much of an impact on your finances. For example, just because you are making more money doesn’t mean you should run out and spend, spend, spend. You need to keep a level head during this time, as you don’t want to risk making a costly financial mistake. Making a move to a job that involves less commuting time, is the most efficient and eco way to go. Leaving you more time for gardening and the simple things in life.
5. Divorce
While you hope you never have to go through this major life change, it’s possible that it could come into play at some point in the future. Divorce will most definitely impact your finances, so you need to plan in advance for anything that could happen. Many people before you have let their divorce ruin their finances. As a result, they had to spend a lot of time to fix credit once they were on their own. You don’t want to let this happen to you. The second you know you are going through with the divorce process is the second you should turn your attention to your finances. This means many things, including keeping a close eye on your credit report and credit score. We don’t know of any eco-divorce. Help us out if you have any ideas.
Conclusion
There are many major events that you will face at some point in your life. Some of these are fun and exciting, while others can be quite disappointing. Even when you have a lot going on in your life, you should never overlook the impact an event is having on your finances. If you let a major life event drag down your credit score, you’ll have a lot of catching up to do in the future.
Have you faced one of these major life events in the past? How did you make your way through it without overspending and/or damaging your credit score? Share your personal strategy and tips in the comment section below.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]