How to Recover From a Spending Binge

If you are staring at your bank account balance after a recent spending binge and are seeing a negative balance, you are not alone. Whether you went a little crazy shopping at the mall, had too much fun over the weekend or last track of your spending while on vacation, one thing is for certain. Now you need to recover from your spending binge and bring your bank account back to the black. So how can you do this?

Live Beneath Your Means

Overspending in the past means you must now play a game of “catch up” with your finances. In order to balance out your overspending, it may be necessary to make some harsh but temporary cuts in your spending. Unless you have overspent a considerable amount of money, you may not need to refinance your car to lower your auto payment or shop for lower insurance rates.

However, you may need to stop eating out at restaurants and simply hunker down at home for a few days or weeks. Any planned extra purchases may need to be canceled or delayed. This isn’t fun to do, but it’s necessary to get your budget back on track.

Borrow From Your Savings Account

If you have severely overspent, you may now be faced with a situation where you are unable to pay for your current expenses. If you have groceries to buy, a gas tank that needs to be filled, a water bill that needs to be paid and more, you should consider borrowing money from an easy access savings account. This is perhaps the least costly way to restore the balance of your checking account because it does not require you to borrow money from high interest credit cards or pay late fees on your various accounts.

Use Your Credit Card

When you have no other option and need cash, you can borrow money from your credit card. Some credit cards allow you to take out a cash advance, but you may simply need to make your required charges, such as groceries and gas for the car, on a credit card. You can compare credit card offers today to find the lowest apr credit card if you do not currently have a credit card that you can use.

When you have overspent, you do need to restore the balance of your budget and get back on track with your finances. You may have immediate bills that need to be paid in some way. Borrowing from your savings account or credit card can help you to pay those bills. However, you should live beneath your means until you have paid off your credit card balance or restored your savings account balance in full.