Thursday, February 3

Fatten your wallet instead of your waist

BECKY REIGEL and MARY HANCE

Gannett News Service

Paring down your expenses until the holiday bills are paid can make you healthier - both financially and physically.

The bonus: You might keep some of the new habits beyond the 90 or 120 days needed to get in better financial shape.

``Most people go into the holiday with a spending plan. But along the way, they kind of get caught up in the spirit of the season and overspend,'' says Mike Cherry, president and chief executive of Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Springfield, Mo. Like calories at a Christmas party, ``they don't really track it.''

But now that you've tucked on a few pounds and a few thousand in credit-card bills, assess the damage, first to your finances.

``Get out all your bills and prioritize them by interest rate,'' Cherry says.

Make a list of the cards, their balances and interest rates. Pay off the card with the highest interest rate first, says Janet LaFon, consumer and family economics specialist for the University of Missouri Outreach and Extension in Carthage, Mo.

Even though one card becomes the focus, make at least a minimum payment on each credit card to avoid late fees.

Then put together a three- or four-month payoff plan and tighten your belt.

Deborah McNaughton, a California-based author of several books on debt and credit, calls it her ``money calorie counter'' plan.

For example, she says passing up potato chips with lunch every day could save you $176.80 and a whopping 63,232 calories a year. Giving up french fries could save 140,400 calories and $533 a year. Or skip that daily slice of cheese pizza and save 80,340 calories and $650.

Just think what would happen if you added a little exercise.

Like most counselors, McNaughton suggests keeping a notebook in which you write down every penny you spend for 30 days.

``We all need to get a reality check on how much we are really spending,'' she says. ``Once a person puts it on paper, they can become proactive. They can take control.''

Monthly expenses include rent or mortgage, utilities, loan payments and other living expenses. But people often cannot figure out where the rest of their money goes.

``Things that people neglect categorizing properly are the ATM purchase, ATM cash withdrawals and debit-card purchases,'' McNaughton says. ``These must be broken down. If you get $20 from your ATM, list every penny you spend the cash on.

``ATM withdrawals are the No. 1 problem in letting money slip through your fingers,'' she says. ``If you're being charged a fee for using your ATM, write that down, too.''

Misuse of credit cards is the other big problem.

Too many people see a credit card as an additional paycheck, the counselors say. Pay off a credit card every month and it becomes a way to extend your money; pay only a portion and it adds to your expenses.

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(Reigel writes for the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader; Hance writes for The Tennessean.)

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