Interest rates and your bond repayments
The interest rate has been hiked once again and everyone needs to tighten their belts to ensure that they are able to make it through this financial wave. Over the past two years, we have experienced a total of 9 interest rate hikes. Although times seem tough and some of us might not know how we are going to be able to manage everything on a smaller budget, there are ways in which the situation can be alleviated.
Speak to your bank ASAP.
Before you miss a payment towards to your bond, contact your bank and be honest about your circumstances. The bank might be open to renegotiating or discussing other possible repayment plans. It is safe to be open with your bank and explore the options going ahead together, instead of dodging their calls and finding yourself in a sticky financial situation later, when they might not be as lenient.
Rework your budget
A financial spring clean could work wonders for your bond repayment and other extra financial requirements that might have come up. Review all your debit orders and financial commitments. Ensure that you are only paying for services and items that you are currently still using or require. For instance, if you are still paying a DSTV subscription, but not making use of it, cancel your subscription and add that money to your bond repayment or somewhere else where it is urgently required. There might be some sacrifices that will need to be made, but that will also only be temporary. If possible, it will be a good idea to pay off and cancel any high interest incurring store cards or credit cards. Any amount being paid extra to your bond repayment will be a benefit to you. Another way that you could adjust your budget would be to look at your food budget and possibly pre-workout meals for the month. This way you will be ensuring that money only gets spent on food that is going to be used and no unnecessary products will be bought. Pay the excess money that you have not spent during the month from your food budget over to your bond repayment.
Pay more to save more
At the beginning of every month, place an amount of money that you are comfortable with in your savings account and at the end of the month pay that amount over to your bond repayment. It might not seem like much when you start, but over time you will notice that it will essentially make a major difference and could reduce your bond instalments / period.
Anyone say Garage Sale?
Now a garage sale might not sound like much, but every item sold essentially means extra money. This money could be spent in whichever way you might see fit, but the more you pay back on your bond the better in the long term.
Side hustle
A side hustle will alleviate the stress you have of making your fixed salary cover all your expenses. You could either pay all your side hustle money over for your bond repayment, or it could provide you with some extra cash, when you require it instantly.
