Reducing debt equals more money and less stress.
The New Year is a great time to start fresh with your sign making business, particularly when it comes to managing and reducing debt. Make it your goal to make this year better than the last by handling your finances better. The result of a clean set of books? Less stress and more money, two things all of us are fond of. Try following these 5 bits of advice for reducing your sign business debt over the course of the year.
- Make a strict budget and stick to it. If it has been difficult for you to keep a strict budget in the past, try and get an accurate estimate of your monthly payments and expenditures and make a budget that matches your business needs.
- Use cash when possible. While it is great to accumulate points with cards, if you struggle to keep a budget, it is better that you work with cash until you get the hang of controlling your spending. It is just too easy to stick things on a card and accumulate debt.
- When you do use cards, make it your goal to pay off your higher interest cards first. Aim to get all cards to less than 50% of the limit in order to protect your credit score.
- When faced with cheap or luxury, go with cheap. I know it seems simple, but small things like brown bagging rather than dining out make a big difference over time.
- Don't forget to collect from your debtors. Likely you have a few customers who owe you something. Chase down outstanding debts in a professional way and you won't lose loyal customers.
- If you are really concerned about paying off accrued debt, think about taking on additional work apart from your small business. If the debt is bad enough, this might be the only way to save the business.
How do you manage to stay on budget?
