2020 March Articles Archives

10 Tips for Reducing Your Debt

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by credit card bills and struggling to get out of debt, here are a few smart steps you can take to getting on top of things and enjoying better financial health in the future.

Tackling Debt One Step at a Time

Be honest with yourself. The first step to tackling your debt is admitting that you’re in it. Take an honest look at how much you owe – you can even ask for a credit report from a national credit bureau like TransUnion. This will give you a summary of your credit obligations.

Speak to your credit providers. Ask your credit providers if they will allow you to repay your debt under different conditions, such as lower monthly instalments or interest rates. This can make your repayments more manageable.

Make up a monthly income and expense budget. You can easily find free online templates and mobile apps that will help you to set a budget.

Prioritise properly. When structuring your budget, pay all the essentials like rent, water, electricity and insurance first. Then make provision for your other expenses.

Cut down on “nice to have” purchases. Make a list of the luxuries that you can live without for a while until your debt is paid off.

Save for a rainy day. Put aside a little bit of money every month as an emergency fund, in case you have unexpected expenses to deal with.

Pay more than the minimum amount where you can. One of the best ways to pay off a debt faster is to make more than the minimum monthly payment where possible.

Tackle high interest first. Try to pay off the debts with the highest interest rates first, then pay off the rest in descending order.

Earn some extra cash on the side. A second job or a “side hustle” will help you to bring in a bit more monthly income, which you can put towards your debt. After you’re all paid up, you can choose to relax and give up the extra work – or keep on hustling to build up more savings.

Avoid making the same mistakes again. Once you’ve got your debt under control, make sure you make smarter spending and saving choices so you don’t end up with the same problem again.

Sources:

11 Ways to get out of debt faster. Retrieved from: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/credit/manage-debt/11-ways-to-get-out-of-debt-faster/

Salt and Your Health

We all love a dash of salt on our favourite dishes to really bring out the flavour, but it’s important to be aware of the effects of salt on our health. Salt has gained a bit of a negative reputation in recent years, and it’s important to know all the facts about salt and your health, in order to make smarter dietary choices.

Salt and Sodium: The Pros and Cons

The scientific name for salt is sodium chloride, because it is made up of about 40% sodium and 60% chloride. Sodium is an important nutrient, which the body needs for the following functions:

Helping the muscles to contract and relax;
Sending nerve impulses throughout the body;
Regulating fluid and mineral balance.

We need a small amount of sodium to support these vital functions; around 500mg daily is enough. However, because of the high levels of salt that’s being added to so many processed and pre-packaged foods today, our modern-day diet typically includes far more sodium than we actually need!

Too much sodium is bad news for your health. Excessive consumption of sodium has been linked to high blood pressure, as well as an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Too much sodium can also deplete your body’s calcium levels, which impacts the health of your bones.

Did You Know? Just one teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300mg of sodium. Health professionals advise that we keep our sodium intake to less than 2,300mg a day.

Reducing Salt in Your Diet

Always read the food labels to check the sodium content of the foods you’re buying.
Compare different brands to see which has the lowest sodium content.
Look for products that say “no salt added” on the packaging.
Include more fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.
Use more herbs and spices as seasonings in your cooking, instead of salt.
Drain and rinse your canned foods before cooking them.
Add more potassium-rich foods (e.g. bananas, sweet potato and kidney beans) to your diet. Potassium is beneficial for blood pressure, and can help to counter the effects of sodium.

A little salt is good for your body (and a treat for your taste buds), but it’s important to make smart everyday dietary choices to make sure you’re not consuming too much.

Sources:

How Much Sodium Do You Need? Retrieved from: http://www.eatingwell.com/article/281629/how-much-sodium-do-you-need/

How much sodium is too much for a day? Retrieved from: https://www.nola.com/gambit/lifestyle/article_d42b4e3d-2cc4-5a8e-9762-df4bbbb41c1b.html

Top 10 Tips for Reducing salt in Your Diet. Retrieved from: https://www.kidney.org/newsletter/top-10-tips-reducing-salt-your-diet

How to Reduce Sodium. Retrieved from: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sodium/how-to-reduce-sodium