Will Good Friday Bring a Better Monday?

The S&P 500 (^GPSC) this week had its best weekly gain since July, up about 3 percent, but if history is any indication, those gains may evaporate on Monday.

Monday’s have been a tough day for stocks this year with indexes closing negative over 67 percent of the time, and after a Good Friday, stocks still may not find a relief.

Historically, U.S. stocks tend to trade down on the Monday following a Good Friday, with the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) leading the biggest decline.

Since the inception of Nasdaq in 1971, the index posted a loss over 62 percent of the time, down on average 0.33 percent.

Other major indexes — the Dow (^DJI) and S&P 500 also followed suite with losses over 55 percent of the time on Monday following the holiday.

On a positive note, stocks tend to trade up the week after.

Not surprisingly, Nasdaq has led the market with gains over half a percent while the Dow and S&P followed with modest gains over 0.2 percent.

The markets have been closed now for more than 100 years since the last time they opened on Good Friday in 1907.

Here’s a look at how indexes performed the week after the observance of this religious holiday in the last 14 years:

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"Your daily habits and routines are the reason you got into this mess," writes Trent Hamm, founder of TheSimpleDollar.com. "Spend some time thinking about how you spend money each day, each week and each month." Do you really need your daily latte? Can you bring your lunch to work instead of buying it four times a week? Ask yourself: What can I change without sacrificing my lifestyle too much? 
1. Change your habits

Remove all credit cards from your wallet and leave them at home when you go shopping, advises WiseBread contributor Sabah Karimi. “Even if you earn cash back or other rewards with credit card purchases, stop spending with your credit cards until you have your finances under control,” she writes.
2. Leave your credit cards at home

If you do a lot of online shopping at one retailer, you may have stored your credit card information on the site to make the checkout process easier. But that also makes it easier to charge items you don’t need. So clear that information. "If you’re paying for a recurring service, use a debit card issued from a major credit card service linked to your checking account," Hamm writes.  
3. Delete credit-card info from online stores

Reward yourself when you reach debt payoff goals. "The only way to completely pay off your credit card debt is to keep at it, and to do that, you must keep yourself motivated," Bakke writes. Just make sure to reward yourself within reason. For example, instead of a weeklong vacation, plan a weekend camping trip. "If you aim to reduce your credit card debt from $10,000 to $5,000 in two months," Bakke writes, "give yourself more than a pat on the back." 
4. Reward yourself when you reach milestones

“Establish a budget,” writes Money Crashers contributor David Bakke. “If you don’t scale back your spending, you’ll dig yourself into a deeper hole." You can use personal finance tools like Mint.com, or make your own Excel spreadsheet that includes your monthly income and expenses. Then scrutinize those budget categories to see where you can cut costs.    
5. Create a budget

Sort your credit card interest rates from highest to lowest, then tackle the card with the highest rate first. "By paying off the balance with the highest interest first, you increase your payment on the credit card with the highest annual percentage rate while continuing to make the minimum payment on the rest of your credit cards," writes Mint.com spokeswoman Hitha Prabhakar.
6. Pay off the most expensive debts first

To make a dent in your debt, you need to pay more than the minimum balance on your credit card statements each month. "Paying the minimum -– usually 2 to 3 percent of the outstanding balance -– only prolongs a debt payoff strategy," Prabhakar writes. "Strengthen your commitment to pay everything off by making weekly, instead of monthly, payments." Or if your minimum payment is $100, try doubling it and paying off $200 or more. 
7. Pay more than the minimum balance

If you have a high-interest card with a balance that you’re confident you can pay off in a few months, Hamm recommends moving the debt to a card that offers a zero-interest balance transfer. "You’ll need to pay off the debt before the balance transfer expires, or else you’re often hit with a much higher interest rate," he warns. "If you do it carefully, you can save hundreds on interest this way."
8. Take advantage of balance transfers

Have any birthday gifts or old wedding presents collecting dust in your closet? Look for items you can sell on eBay or Craigslist. "Do some research to make sure you list these items at a fair and reasonable price," Karimi writes. “Take quality photos, and write an attention-grabbing headline and description to sell the item as quickly as possible." Any profits from sales should go toward your debt. 
9. Sell unwanted gifts and household items

If you receive a job bonus around the holidays or during the year, allocate that money toward your debt payoff plan. "Avoid the temptation to spend that bonus on a vacation or other luxury purchase," Karimi writes. It’s more important to fix your financial situation than own the latest designer bag.
10. Put work bonus toward paying off your debt

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