Between mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and student loans, most people are in debt. While being debt-free is a worthwhile goal, most people need to focus on managing their debt first since it’s likely to be there for most of their life.<\/p>\n
Handled wisely, however, that debt won’t be an albatross around your neck. You don’t need to shell out your hard-earned money because of exorbitant interest rates or always feel like you’re on the verge of bankruptcy. You can pay off debt the smart way, while at the same time, saving money to pay it off even faster.<\/p>\n
First, assess the depth of your debt. Write it down using pencil and paper or use a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel. You can also use a bookkeeping program such as Quicken. Include every instance you can think of where a company has given you something in advance of payment, including your mortgage, car payment(s), credit cards, tax liens, student loans, and payments on electronics or other household items through a store.<\/p>\n
Record the day the debt began and when it will end (if possible), the interest rate you’re paying, and what your payments typically are. Next, add it all up–as painful as that might be. Try not to be discouraged! Remember, you’re going to break this down into manageable chunks while finding extra money to help pay it down.<\/p>\n
Yes, some debts are more expensive than others. Unless you’re getting payday loans (which you shouldn’t be), the worst offenders are probably your credit cards. Here’s how to deal with them.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Do whatever you can to retire debt. Consider taking a second job and using that income only for higher payments on your financial obligations. Substitute free family activities for high-cost ones. Sell high-value items that you can live without.<\/p>\n
Do you really need the 200-channel cable option or that satellite dish on your roof? You’ll be surprised at what you don’t miss. How about magazine subscriptions? They’re not terribly expensive, but every penny counts. It’s nice to have a library of books, but consider visiting the public library or half-price bookstores until your debt is under control.<\/p>\n
Not only are you retiring debt, but you’re also building a stellar credit rating. If you ever move or buy another car, you’ll want to get the lowest rate possible. A blemish-free payment record will help with that. Besides, credit card companies can be quick to raise interest rates because of one late payment. A completely missed one is even more serious.<\/p>\n
To avoid increasing debt load, make it a habit to pay for everything you purchase with cash. If you don’t have the cash for it, you probably don’t need it. You’ll feel better about what you do have if you know it’s owned free and clear.<\/p>\n
If your family is large enough to warrant it, invest $30 or $40 and join a store like Sam’s or Costco–and use it. Shop there first, then at the grocery store. Change brands if you have to and swallow your pride. If you’re concerned about buying organic, rest assured that even at places like Costco you will have many options. Use coupons religiously. Calculate the money you’re saving and slap it on your debt.<\/p>\n
Each of these steps, taken alone, probably doesn’t seem like much, but if you adopt as many as you can, you’ll watch your debt decrease every month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Between mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and student loans, most people are in debt. While being debt-free is a worthwhile goal, most people need to focus on managing their debt first since it’s likely to be there for most of their life. Handled wisely, however, that debt won’t be an albatross around your neck. You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-finance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3020"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3022,"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3020\/revisions\/3022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lmgw.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}