Debt Advice

 If you are serious about your intention to eliminate debt out of your life and be financially free then there are two simple things you can do to help you achieve that.

To eliminate debt your number one priority is to not add to it. Paying down a credit card debt to only head out and use it again and again will ensure you never eliminate your debt. To become debt free you need to tackle one debt at a time; a relentless rolling payment plan is the key to financial freedom.

Taking on one debt at a time is a well proven method of beating down your debt chunk by chunk. Once you have paid off one debt you simply roll that debt’s old payment dollars into your next debt. This will result in all your debts being paid off much quicker than otherwise would have been and the savings in interest payments could be enormous. Choosing which debts to eliminate first is easy. Simply start with the debt that is incurring the highest amount of interest.

Write all you debts down in order of highest interest first and the current balance. Next to each debt write the monthly required payment. From here you can see quickly where to begin and how much extra you’ll be able to contribute to each of your debts as you roll payments down the line when the first debts are paid off.

Are your debt repayments more than you can afford?

It sounds simple to just eliminate your debts one by one but it isn’t always that easy. Sometimes there isn’t enough money to meet all of the debt repayments let alone pay one off completely and merge that extra money into another debt’s monthly payment plan.

If your debts are more than you can handle then another option is to consolidate some or all of your debts into one new loan. This makes it easy to manage with just one repayment, one lender and one debt to focus on paying down. Debt consolidation isn’t always the best way to save you money over the long term but it is certainly better than ending up in court or worse still, being made bankrupt.

Overspending; buying material possessions that you can really do without and not sticking to a budget are all enemies of your goal to eliminate debt and be free. Short term gains such as big screen televisions are ultimately your long term pain. In just a few short years most people can manage to pay off large amounts of debt when they put their mind to it.

Your two simple actions are to not add to your debt and to pay off one debt at a time, always adding those now available payment dollars to your next debt’s monthly payment. Take these steps and you will eliminate debt that you thought you never would.

By Renee Dunn

Help reducing your debt – It’s Only Money – A Personal Finance 

Sunday’s column was a plea to reduce debt. I provided only limited advice. Below is a host of other resources to help. We are in uncharted waters in this financial crisis, as one fabled investor/author told the Wall Street Journal. 

Simple ways Reducing Debt With a Personal Finance Program

It’s a fact that one of the biggest causes of personal debt is the overuse, abuse and misuse of the credit card. Never have acquiring goods and services been.  

The Easiest Way to Reduce Debt: Focus on the Budget 

Now everyone is realising that there is more to life than trends, fashions and credit cards, perhaps the old fashioned budget can make a comeback!   

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