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How To Get Out Of Debt And Save Money Quickly

Do you want to get out of debt and save money quickly?

According to Meir Statman, a behavioral economist in a recent statement “getting out of debt is the financial equivalent of trying to quit smoking.”

It is important to understand that just like every other bad habit, good intentions alone will not be enough.

To ensure success, you need to break your underlying patterns of behavior.

Have you ever imagined what you have to go through each time you find yourself in debt or each time you allow your debts to pile up to several huge sums?

This could be disastrous on your part and most times also alarming.

According to research, being in debt does not only stress an individual physically but also mentally and emotionally.

Although every debtor is usually not in the right frame of mind and is being stressed in every area of their lives, their age other consequences that arise out of being in debt which is why it is paramount for you to know exactly the ways to get out of debt and save money quickly as outlined below.

1. Budget To get out of Debt fast and Save Money Quickly.

If you want to learn how to get out of debt and save money quickly, you must cultivate the habit of budgeting.

This should be the first thing to do, drawing up your budget and knowing exactly what is needed, necessary and what is not too important in your list.

You can do this by gathering all your bank and credit card statements, sitting down, and making a budget based on what is available.

Organize what you are paying out monthly into categories and handle them as listed.

Dave Ramsey, the author of the New York bestselling book, “The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness,” said, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”

2. Reduce Your Interest Rates.

Another way to get out of debt and save money quickly is to reduce how much you pay on interest.

To do this, you can start by calling your current credit card companies to explain to them that you intend to transfer your balance to another issue except they reduce their rate.

This is because all credit card companies run promotional programs with low-interest rates that help individuals.

They will be more than willing to put you on one of those programs that will help reduce your debt all you need to do is ask.

3. Pay off Debt with the Highest Interest rate First.

Every debtor is a prisoner of the lender.

This is because you are always distressed each time you come across your lender or each time you know you have some cash to pay to someone.

As the case may be, there is a sure way of making all this go away and this starts by paying off the debt starting from the ones with the highest interest rate.

You can list them in other to figure out which among them have the highest interest rates.

If this is done right, you will realize that at the end of the day, you will be left with little or no debt to pay.

Why it is important to pay off debt with a high-interest rate is because they consume the larger part of your income leaving you with no savings if not taking care of.

4. Pay more than the Minimum Balance Required.

To ensure your debt is paid off, you need to pay more than your minimum balance on your credit card statements each month.

This is because “Paying the minimum – usually 2 to 3 percent of the outstanding balance – only prolongs a debt payoff strategy,” according to Prabhakar.

Whether it is a credit card debt, personal loans, or student loans, the best way to pay them off sooner and have some savings is to make more than the minimum monthly payment budget or making the payment on a weekly basis.

Doing this will not only help you save on interest throughout the life of your loan, but it will also speed up the payoff process. “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.

5. Use the Debt Snowball Method.

This method works like magic, if you really want to pay off all your debts, this means paying more than the minimum monthly budgets on your credit cards and other debts.

Using the snowball method will sure speed things up, build momentum, and help you realize some savings.

How it works

The steps involve listing all of the debts you owe from smallest to largest. Use your excess funds at the smallest balance, while making the minimum payments on all your larger loans.

Once the smallest balance is paid off, start putting that extra money toward the next smallest debt until you pay that one-off, and so on.

6. Close any Account that is No Longer Needed.

If you have any unused credit cards from lenders with whom you’ve had a long relationship, it will boost your credit score. On the other hand, having too many will harm it.

According to research, 3 credit cards are what works best, and try to never spend more than 50% of the available credit on any of the cards.

Mary Hunt, the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 23 books, author of “Debt-Proof Living: How to Get Out of Debt & Stay That Way “ said, “Contrary to the financial pressure and stress we might feel from time to time, generally the problem is not that we don’t have enough money.

The problem is that we don’t know how to manage what we do have.”

This will keep your score at its highest. Also, you should consider closing all your store cards, if you need to make a purchase then use your credit card and pay it off at the end of the month.

7. Get a cool off and leave those cards at Home.

Most times we spend unnecessarily because we are always with our credit cards.

If you are such a person and you want to know how you can get out of debt and save money, then I will suggest you leave those cards at home sometimes to avoid excess spending.

While leaving them at home, you should also ensure you don’t keep them where people can easily see them.

Jerrold Mundis in his book titled “How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously“: Based on the Proven Principles and Techniques of Debtors Anonymous” extensively discussed most of these issues and it is best you get some ideas from him also.

8. Sell off Unwanted Items.

This is another good method for you to pay off your debts and also make some savings.

There are lots of items we keep in our houses that are not needed by us as an individual but lots of people want that item but are looking for it at a cheaper rate.

So it is advised to use this opportunity to sell those items off and make some cash which will also help you pay off those debts.

Search through your home, look for items you can sell-off. Karimi said “Do some research to make sure you list these items at a fair and reasonable price,” “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. Change your Habits.

Every debt owed comes as a result of habit. This can be the habit of excess spending either on things required or on unnecessary things. According to Hamm “Your daily habits and routines are the reason you got into this mess.”

You can spend some time thinking about how you spend money each day, week, and month and see how you can cut down on excesses.

10. Try to Understand Your Loans and Make Plans.

If you are going to get out of debt and save money quickly, you have to understand your loan pattern and also create an accurate repayment method that will help you get rid of it as fast as possible. You can do this by using a repayment calculator.

Plug the information about your loan into a repayment calculator or use your loan servicer’s online account tools. Learn how much you need to pay per month in order to pay off your loan within a specific amount of time.

11. Nicely ask for Loan Repayment Money for Gifts.

This will go a long way in helping you also in your debt payment.

To do this you can nicely tell your friends and family that instead of giving you the traditional birthday, holiday, and graduation gifts, you’d rather receive funds that will help subsidize debts and go into paying down loans.

12. Give yourself some Credit and Reward Yourself.

According to Bakke “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.”

Do not see yourself as being in punishment while paying off your debts because that won’t help you pay it off any faster. So at some point give yourself some rewards and stay motivated. Just make sure to reward yourself within reason.

Beverly Harzog, author of; The Debt Escape Plan: How to Free Yourself From Credit Card Balances, Boost Your Credit Score, and Live Debt-Free, said ” There is no correct way to pay off debt, contrary to what you hear in the media.

The objective here is to put yourself in the best position possible for success”.

13. Use Your work Bonuses to Pay off Debt.

Paying off debt is not that easy, this is why you have to make a great effort to get out of it. At this point, you can also try putting in your work bonuses to help with the payment.

If you receive a job bonus around the holidays or during the year, try to allocate part of it towards your debt payoff plan. It’s more important to fix your financial situation than own the latest car.

14. Get a Part-Time Job.

During the holiday period or other seasons, there are lots of part-time jobs that spring up. You can scout for and get some part-time jobs which can help in minimizing expenses on your major income.

If you’re willing and able, you could pick up one of these part-time jobs and earn some extra cash to use toward your debts. Whether you want to pay off debt or save money, this is a good approach that can help you achieve that.

15. Always Spend less than you Plan to.

Most times, we make wishes and plans bigger than our paycheques, the popular saying, “You can have almost anything you want; you just can’t afford everything you want,” is true.

Due to the fact that people want what they can’t get, they have been forced to spend more than they earn and this leaves them in huge debt.

Suze Orman, New York bestselling author of, “The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke“. said, “Remember to remember your power – everything you’ve learned with these steps to financial freedom – and put it all into practice every day, because, in the grand scheme of life, you’ll never really know how things are meant to turn out until they turn out.” Suze Orman, The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying.

If you want something, don’t buy it unless you have the money. More also, if you can be satisfied with less than you would ideally want, even temporarily, you can use the money you save to pay down your debt.

By the time your debt is paid off, you’ll probably have adjusted to your new priorities, and you can use the money that you are saving to put towards other financial priorities.

It’s my hope that my article on how to get out of debt and save money quickly has helped you in your quest to get out of debt and saving money.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How To Get Out of Debt Fast: 23 Proven Ways

Debt Solutions

How to get out of debt fast is the million-dollar question been asked by millions of individuals every day.

Debt generally refers to something owed by one party, the borrower or debtor, to a second party, the lender or creditor.

Behavioral economist Meir Statman, recently said, “getting out of debt is the financial equivalent of trying to quit smoking.”Just like any bad habit, good intentions alone will not be enough. To ensure success, we need to break our underlying patterns of behavior.How is it we live in the richest most powerful country in the world, but the average American is more than $11,000 in debt?Our European friends who live by a mainly debit card system have an average savings of $13,000.Reducing and eliminating your debt does not happen overnight.However, if you outline a realistic plan for reducing debt, you can become debt-free in a few years.

This article How To Get Out of Debt Fast: 23 Proven Ways will assist you in your quest to be debt-free

1.Plastic Surgery.

If we are serious about paying off our balances. We don’t have to literally cut up our credit cards, just stop using them routinely. We should go green for our everyday spending.

Try carrying around a set amount of cash to use each week. We make better purchasing decisions when we actually have to hand over the green stuff plus there’s a preset spending limit.

When we run out of money, we stop spending it’s that simple. When the only way to purchase is plastic, buying online for instance, then use your debit card.

Your debit card can also be used as an emergency substitute for cash should you run out.

2. Leave Those Cards Home.

The best way to ensure that you enforce the cooling-off period on new credit purchases is by taking the cards out of your wallet.

You should store them in a place that’s not easily accessible and safe. Do not let others know where you have hidden them.

3. Close The Accounts No Longer Needed.

Having unused credit available from lenders with whom you’ve had a long relationship will help boost your credit score. Having too many will harm your credit score.

As a rule, 3 credit cards is what works best, and try to never spend more than 50% of the available credit on any of the cards. This will keep your score at it’s highest.

You should also consider closing all your store cards if you need to make a purchase then use your credit card and pay it off at the end of the month.

4. Lowering Your Interest Rates.

Start by reducing what you pay in interest.

We can start by calling our current credit card companies and explaining that we intend to transfer our balance to another issuer unless our interest rate is lowered.

Almost all credit card companies run promotional programs with low or 0% interest. They will be willing to put you on one of those rather than risk losing your business.

All you need to do is ASK.

5. Tackling Those Credit Card Balances.

Finally, we need to develop a strategy for paying off our existing credit card balances.

Gather all your credit card statements together and make a simple table listing the entire amount you owe, and the minimum payment and interest rate for each card.

This will help us determine the order in which we should pay off our cards.

We need to focus on the highest interest rate cards first and pay off as much as you can each month while making only the minimum payments on our other cards.

When the first card is paid off, use the same strategy on the next-highest interest rate card and so on until you’re debt-free. that is how to get out of debt fast.

6. Late Payments.

Are the number one cardinal sin of debt management. You get hit with hefty late fees and very high penalty rates that can go to 30%, plus of course, your credit score will take a big hit.

We all have a responsibility to improve our financial literacy and develop the required skills and practices for effective financial management.

There is a real need to get away from the “Someday things will get better in my life” or the “Someday I will be able to earn enough money to stop worrying about the bills.

Understand there is a lot more to life than that, but it has to be said and understood that the only person that can change your life is YOU.

There is NO substitute for Action! With Action, you will overcome your fears and hesitations and accomplish everything you set out to do and more.

7. Establish a Plan for Eliminating Your Debt.

Before achieving your goal, you must outline a detailed plan for eliminating your debt. To begin, gather all your credit accounts and unpaid bills. It is important to have an accurate debt amount.

Individuals who earn a huge salary may be able to eliminate their debts by simply cutting expenses.

Record your monthly income and make a list of your monthly expenses Determine how much income remains after you have paid your bills for the month.

This amount is your disposable income. Instead of frivolously spending this income, use the extra money to pay off your credit card balances.

If you do not have the extra income to pay off your debts, there are other options available to you.

8. Evaluate Yоur Debts.

Cоllесt аll of уоur financial dосumеntѕ and рrint оut your free аnnuаl сrеdit reports. Uѕе Crеdit.соm’ѕ frее сrеdit report саrd tо ѕее еxасtlу whеrе you ѕtаnd tо ѕее exactly whеrе уоu ѕtаnd.

Thiѕ iѕ an imроrtаnt step toward debt rесоvеrу аnd оnе thаt people аrе often ѕсаrеd to tаkе.

On a рiесе оf paper, writе down thе balances, intеrеѕt rаtеѕ, аnd mоnthlу amount duе fоr each оf уоur dеbtѕ.

Inсludе your аutо lоаnѕ, реrѕоnаl loans, payday lоаnѕ, credit саrdѕ, and оthеr debts.

Yоu ѕhоuld аlѕо make note of аnу annual fееѕ оn your сrеdit cards. Yоu dоn’t nееd to inсludе your mоrtgаgе loan оr ѕtudеnt lоаnѕ аt this timе.

Thеѕе lоаnѕ hаvе rеlаtivеlу long tеrmѕ аnd lоw APRs ѕо it is bеttеr to fосuѕ on paying оff your оthеr dеbtѕ firѕt.

9. Lооk аt Yоur Budgеt.

Aftеr уоu hаvе соllесtеd thе infоrmаtiоn about your debts, уоu ѕhоuld take a lооk аt уоur mоnthlу budgеt.

Writе dоwn your mоnthlу inсоmе аftеr tаxеѕ and subtract уоur rent/mortgage рауmеnt frоm thiѕ аmоunt and оthеr monthly expenses such аѕ сhildсаrе, student loan рауmеntѕ, inѕurаnсе, utilitiеѕ, аnd grосеriеѕ.

Once уоu have ѕubtrасtеd аll оf уоur еxреnѕеѕ, саlсulаtе hоw muсh you hаvе left tо рау оff уоur debts. If thiѕ аmоunt iѕ tоо ѕmаll, lооk fоr ways tо reduce уоur ѕреnding.

Consider turning off уоur cable ѕubѕсriрtiоn or саrрооling аѕ wауѕ to cut back tеmроrаrilу.

The mоrе you саn pay tоwаrdѕ уоur debts еасh mоnth, thе ѕооnеr уоu will be debt frее.

10. Mаkе a Plan.

Nоw thаt уоu know аll about уоur finаnсiаl ѕituаtiоn, it’ѕ timе tо сrеаtе a рlаn fоr rеduсing уоur dеbtѕ.

Use уоur infоrmаtiоn from Stер 1 аnd 2 tо fill in thе following сhаrt. Subtrасt уоur minimum dеbt рауmеntѕ

(Stер 1) аnd monthly expenses (Stер 2) frоm уоur mоnthlу inсоmе аftеr taxes. The remaining аmоunt should bе uѕеd to pay оff thе dеbt with thе highеѕt interest rate аnd the highеѕt balance.

Continue thiѕ cycle each mоnth until thе debt iѕ paid оff and thеn mоvе оn tо the nеxt highеѕt rаtе/bаlаnсе ассоunt. This mау ѕееm like аn odd рrосеѕѕ, but it is thе fastest wау to rеduсе your dеbtѕ.

During this time, you ѕhоuld nоt аdd аnу nеw сhаrgеѕ tо уоur credit саrdѕ. Alѕо, try tо increase thе amount уоu pay tоwаrd thе mоѕt еxреnѕivе dеbt each mоnth.

Track уоur рrоgrеѕѕ with a сhаrt like thiѕ:

11. Stаrt Nеgоtiаtiоnѕ.

Whilе уоu аrе ѕtаrting to follow your repayment рlаn frоm Step 3, you ѕhоuld соntасt уоur creditors and lеndеrѕ to ѕее if you can imрrоvе thе terms оn уоur debts.

Yоu may bе аblе to lоwеr уоur intеrеѕt rates оr nеgоtiаtе a rеduсеd ѕеttlеmеnt оn ѕоmе dеbtѕ by speaking with thе сuѕtоmеr ѕеrviсе department.

It is еѕресiаllу еаѕу to nеgоtiаtе the tеrmѕ оf debts thаt аrе charged off (diѕmiѕѕеd) bу thе сrеditоr оr in collections аlrеаdу. Also, think about moving some of your credit card dеbtѕ tо new ассоuntѕ with lоwеr interest rates.

Mоving a balance to a сrеdit card with a 0% intrоduсtоrу rate fоr 6-12 months can hеlр уоu ѕаvе a lоt оn intеrеѕt.

Juѕt bе ѕurе tо kеер еасh of your сrеdit саrd bаlаnсеѕ below 35% of the сrеdit limitѕ tо avoid dаmаging уоur credit ѕсоrе.

During thiѕ timе, invеѕtigаtе if соnѕоlidаting уоur dеbtѕ into a personal lоаn or hоmе equity loan соuld hеlр tоо.

12. Follow-Through Your Dеbt Rеduсtiоn Plan.

Dо уоur bеѕt to mееt уоur rерауmеnt goals each month. It’ѕ оkау if thе amount уоu рut toward уоur mоѕt еxреnѕivе dеbt each month vаriеѕ.

Juѕt try to consistently рut аѕ much as роѕѕiblе tоwаrd your dеbtѕ.

Signing uр fоr аn аutоmаtеd рауmеnt ѕуѕtеm аnd keeping a chart оf уоur progress оn thе refrigerator can hеlр уоu ѕtау оn trасk.

Whеn уоu rеасh major milestones, bе sure to celebrate your success. Bеfоrе уоu know it

13. Uѕе соmmоn Sеnѕе.

Thе bеѕt wау to reduce уоur dеbt lоаd iѕ tо uѕе some соmmоn ѕеnѕе.

Thе Nо. 1 rеаѕоn реорlе hаvе ѕо muсh dеbt is bесаuѕе оf hоw еаѕу it is tо obtain аnd uѕе сrеdit.

People fail to rеаlizе how much thеу hаvе already spent, аnd bеfоrе thеу knоw it, thеу’rе mаxing оut their сrеdit cards оn a mоnthlу basis.

Thе bеѕt wау to know juѕt hоw muсh mоnеу уоu аrе ѕреnding iѕ tо pay fоr еvеrуthing in cash.

This mеаnѕ uѕing сrеdit саrdѕ оnlу fоr emergency рurроѕеѕ, ѕuсh as unexpected car еxреnѕеѕ аnd mеdiсаl еmеrgеnсiеѕ.

Bу рауing with саѕh, уоu will gаin a better аррrесiаtiоn fоr еvеrу hard-earned dollar.

14. Debt Management and Consumer Credit Counseling Services.

Another method for reducing debt involves establishing a relationship with debt management or credit counseling service.

These services will help you reduce debt and improve your credit rating by contacting your creditors and establishing better terms and rates on your credit cards and loans.

15. Apply for a Debt Consolidation Loan to Reduce debt.

Applying for a debt consolidation loan to reduce your debts is a great way to eliminate high-interest consumer debts.

While a debt consolidated loan will not immediately erase your debts, these loans have short terms and low rates, which allow you to pay off your personal debts in less time.

There are three ways to acquire funds to consolidate debts. For starters, you can attempt to apply for a personal debt consolidation loan.

Depending on the financial institution, you will need collateral or an excellent credit score.

Homeowners may apply for a home equity loan or line of credit. The funds received from the loan or line of credit may be used to pay off or reduce other high-interest consumer debts.

Be careful when accepting these types of consolidation loans.

Home equity loans and lines of credit are protected by your home’s equity. With this said, the lender may foreclose your house if you do not repay the loan.

16. Stop Impulse-Buying.

If you wаnt tо freeze уоur dеbt, уоu muѕt frееzе уоur ѕреnding, especially if уоu dоn’t hаvе thе inсоmе to ѕuрроrt ѕuсh high lеvеlѕ оf dеbt.

If уоu соntinuе inсurring mоrе debt, уоu ѕооn won’t еvеn hаvе еnоugh fundѕ to pay fоr thе interest. Sо unlеѕѕ it’ѕ аn emergency, ѕtор mаking imрulѕе рurсhаѕеѕ.

17. Dеvеlор a plan.

There iѕ an оld saying in the financial wоrld: If уоu fail tо рlаn, уоu рlаn tо fаil. This advice аррliеѕ to everyone, inсluding fаmilу hоuѕеhоldѕ.

Stаrt by dеvеlорing a rоаd рlаn that will take уоu tо dеbt-frее zone. Yоu nееd tо knоw hоw muсh your total dеbt is and hоw long it will take you tо рау it off givеn уоur сurrеnt payment plan.

The next рrосеѕѕ involves еѕtаbliѕhing a budgеt. Liѕt all уоur rеvеnuеѕ аnd keep trасk оf уоur еxреnѕеѕ

. Thiѕ will givе уоu a better idеа of how muсh mоnеу iѕ соming in, hоw muсh money you’re ѕреnding оn diffеrеnt асtivitiеѕ, аnd whether оr nоt уоu can sustain уоur сurrеnt ѕреnding hаbitѕ.

Onсе you knоw еxасtlу hоw muсh you’re ѕреnding, it’s time to сut bасk оn unnecessary expenses…

Tаkе a close lооk аt еасh еxреnѕе аnd determine which оnеѕ can bе еliminаtеd. Yоu саn then uѕе that еxtrа money to lоwеr your dеbt.

Cutting back takes a lоt of willpower. If уоu find it difficult tо dо ѕо, I ѕuggеѕt уоu set uр еxреnѕе jars.

Thеу work in a vеrу ѕimрlе mаnnеr: Sеt uр a jаr fоr еасh main асtivitу, ѕuсh as movies, сlubbing, restaurants, fаѕt fооd, gаѕ, аnd so оn.

Every month, рut саѕh intо еасh jаr ассоrding tо уоur budgеt. Onсе thе money iѕ gone, ѕtор thаt раrtiсulаr асtivitу.

If there iѕ money lеft оvеr, аррlу it tо reducing your debt. Aѕ rudimеntаrу as it mау ѕееm, thiѕ technique works wоndеrѕ.

18. Rеѕеаrсh Money-Saving Options.

Lооk for mоnеу-ѕаving opportunities like lоw intеrеѕt rаtеѕ аnd credit саrd оffеrѕ. Before ѕеttling down with a creditor, ѕhор аrоund.

Mоѕt реорlе аrе аfrаid of bаnkѕ; thеу think that it iѕ ѕtill аѕ hаrd tо get a bаnk loan аѕ it wаѕ in thе еаrlу ’50s. But tоdау, mоѕt сrеditоrѕ аrе еаgеr tо lеnd you money.

Dоn’t bе afraid tо negotiate the rаtеѕ. If you really want to know how to get out of debt fast.

If you don’t hаvе timе tо ѕhор аrоund and compare lеnding rates, уоu саn always check оut BаnkRаtе.соm.

Yоu’ll get аn inѕtаnt lооk аt the аvеrаgе rаtеѕ оn vаriоuѕ tуреѕ оf саrdѕ, аѕ wеll аѕ links tо thе bеѕt credit саrd dеаlѕ.

Carefully lооk аt thеѕе diffеrеnt plans. Sоmе credit саrdѕ allow you to сut your intеrеѕt in half simply by рауing аn аnnuаl fее оf $20.

Imagine thаt: Yоu рау $20 оnсе a year and your annual intеrеѕt rаtе gеtѕ сut frоm 18% tо 9%.

19. Take Aсtiоn.

Don’t bе lаzу. Fоrmulаtе уоur mоnеу-ѕаving рlаn tоdау аnd fоllоw it tо a tее. Juѕt because уоu knоw thе wау home dоеѕn’t mean уоu’ll actually gеt thеrе until уоu take асtiоn.

Mоѕt реорlе do develop a debt mаnаgеmеnt ѕtrаtеgу. Thе оnlу рrоblеm iѕ thаt thеу forget or dоn’t hаvе the willроwеr to gо thrоugh with it.

Diѕсiрlinе iѕ kеу, ѕо gеt ready tо whip yourself out оf dеbt.

20. Dоn’t close Credit Card Aссоuntѕ.

When уоu сlоѕе уоur сrеdit саrd accounts, уоu rеduсе уоur options.

Aѕ lоng аѕ уоur сurrеnt сrеdit саrd companies аrеn’t charging уоu аnу fees fоr inactivity, it’ѕ in уоur bеѕt intеrеѕt tо hаng оntо уоur ассоuntѕ.

The рrоblеm with closing ассоuntѕ iѕ thаt уоu’rе at thе mеrсу оf whаtеvеr сrеdit cards уоu decide tо kеер.

That’s thе equivalent оf having tо shop аt one store nо mаttеr hоw gооd the рriсеѕ аrе еlѕеwhеrе.

Pluѕ, when сrеdit саrd соmраniеѕ nоtiсе thаt you’re nоt uѕing them аnуmоrе, thеу’ll generally ѕеnd уоu an оffеr that ѕаvеѕ уоu mоnеу.

Always kеер your орtiоnѕ ореn and bе rеаdу to switch banks оnсе уоu gеt a bеttеr оffеr.

21. Always pay оn time.

Thе wоrѕt thing уоu can do iѕ make late рауmеntѕ. If уоu lеt thе dеаdlinе раѕѕ, уоu’ll pay intеrеѕt оn the full сrеdit саrd bаlаnсе аѕ оf the рurсhаѕе dаtе.

The lаtе fееѕ hurt you immеdiаtеlу and wоuld bе better uѕеd tо rеduсе уоur debt. Thеу’rе аlѕо a ѕtrikе аgаinѕt уоur сrеdit rаting аnd futurе bаrgаining роwеr.

By paying lаtе, уоu аlѕо diminiѕh уоur сhаnсеѕ оf gеtting thе bеѕt rаtеѕ аnd dеаlѕ on a саr loan оr a mоrtgаgе.

In the lоng run — especially in the case оf a mortgage — thаt kind of nеgligеnсе саn соѕt уоu thоuѕаndѕ of dоllаrѕ.

22. Nеgоtiаtе with сrеditоrѕ.

It оnlу mаkеѕ ѕеnѕе tо аѕk the реорlе you оwе for a brеаk.

Uѕе your credit rероrt аnd rесеnt billing ѕtаtеmеntѕ to come up with a liѕt оf аll the реорlе уоu оwе and thе amount you оwе them.

Thеn, figurе оut how much уоu’rе аblе to рау each.

Cаll еасh сrеditоr and let thеm knоw уоu’rе willing to рау thе dеbt but саn оnlу аffоrd tо pay $X.

If thе сuѕtоmеr service rер says nо, dоn’t fight оr argue, simply ask tо ѕреаk tо a supervisor аnd аѕk аgаin.

Make ѕurе tо gеt any аgrееmеnt in writing, рrеfеrаblу оn соmраnу lеttеrhеаd, before mаking a рауmеnt.

23. Cоnѕоlidаtе.

Debt consolidation is a route that many individuals go in seeking how to get out of debt fast.

Combining your debt with dеbt соnѕоlidаtiоn or hоmе еԛuitу lоаn саn givе you a lоwеr monthly рауmеnt.

Avеrаgе thе interest rаtеѕ оn уоur сurrеnt dеbt аnd look fоr a lоаn thаt hаѕ a lоwеr intеrеѕt rate thаn уоur сurrеnt аvеrаgе.

Bе саrеful аbоut getting a lоаn thаt ѕimрlу lоwеrѕ уоur payments bу extending thе repayment period.

You’ll likеlу end uр рауing mоrе interest оvеr timе thаn уоu wоuld оthеrwiѕе.

Image courtesy of iosphere at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Top 17 Amazing Steps To Debt Freedom

Debt Solutions

Debt freedom can be experienced by you, follow these simple steps and you will be debt-free. Many of us live with debt in our lives.

Whether it is paying off a vehicle, a mortgage, University fees, or credit card bills, most likely all of us owe a debt in one way or another.

It was Balki Bartokomous who said ‘I am in debt. I am a true American’. However, debt can easily spiral out of control and become crippling.

When you are in a pit of debt and spending, it can be hard to see any way out. Yet, you are not alone. There are many people experiencing the same situation.

Follow these 17 baby steps to debt freedom, and like many other individuals before, you will find yourself free of your debts.

1. Assess your debt in order to experience a life of debt freedom.

To begin with, you need to look at the types of debt you have. There are two types of debt- good debt, and bad debt.

Good debt includes mortgages and student loans, as either your home or your services have more value as time goes on.

Bad debt is debt that has high interest and little to no value- such as car repayments and credit card debt.

2. Talk to your creditors.

Many people who are in debt will be too afraid to speak to their creditors. However, if you want debt consolidation then your creditors can often help.

See if they can offer you a lower interest rate or a settlement fee- a fee at a lesser rate if you pay it all in one go.

3. Assess your steps to financial freedom.

You have two options here. The first is to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first. Pay all your other debts with a minimum repayment, except for this.

Once this highest interest rate debt has been consolidated, you will have fewer repayments each month and it will be easier to pay off the rest.

The other option is to do the opposite- pay off the smallest loan first.

This is Dave Ramsey’s steps to debt-free living options.

Ramsey says: ‘The math seems to lean more toward paying the highest interest debts first, but what I have learned is that personal finance is 20% head knowledge and 80% behavior.

You need some quick wins in order to stay pumped enough to get out of debt completely.

When you start knocking off the easier debts, you will start to see results and you will start to win in debt reduction.’

4. Choose your payment method.

The first option relates to credit card debt.

Take out another credit card with a lower interest rate, ideally one with the first year at 0% interest, and transfer the balance of the higher card to the lower.

You will pay less interest and pay the debt off more quickly.

5. Take out a loan.

If you can, take out a personal loan from the bank.

The interest rate will be lower than credit card debt, so use this loan to pay off your other debts more quickly and save money.

Never use an online personal or payday loan- the fees are extortionate.

6. Use any savings you have to pay off your debt.

This can be risky in the long term, as your circumstances regarding employment or health may change, however, in the short term, it will bring you to debt-free living.

7. Set yourself some goals.

Henry Shaw says “Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.” this does not have to be true. Use baby steps to become debt-free and it will become easier.

One of the baby steps is to use goals.

Set goals of paying off a loan in a certain time frame, another debt in another time frame, and divide that amount of time by the number of months so you know how much you should be paying off each month.

8. Assess your everyday spending in order to experience a life free of Debt.

Gather all of your monthly financial information- bills, rent, transport, food shopping, non-necessities.

Be true to yourself- do not leave anything out- make sure that you acknowledge every penny that you spend.

9. Create a spreadsheet in order to experience a life of freedom.

On your computer, use Excel to create a spreadsheet of your spending.

Use one column for your fixed monthly expenses- these are things you have to pay, for example, your utility bills, your rent or mortgage, and the amount you want to pay back on your debt.

Use the other column for your monthly earnings. Now, minus the tax, insurance, anything else that comes out of your earnings.

This will give you an accurate number of how much you earn each month.

10. Create a budget in order to experience a life of debt freedom.

Take the amount of money you earn each month, and minus the amount of money you spend on your monthly expenses, including your debt repayment.

What you will be left with is the amount that you can spend on ‘other’, such as entertainment, food, clothing.

Look back at the financial information you gathered earlier and see how much you usually spend on these things, and compare to how much you now have to spend.

Keep using the spreadsheet. Write down everything that you spend,and make it a part of your life.

If you are finding it unrealistic to live on this budget, then adjust the amount that you want to payback of your debt.

11. Make sure that you stick to your budget.

To make sure that you stick to your budget, allocate finances for each category- entertainment, food, etc. Put the money for each expense in their own envelopes.

This is a great way to keep track of how much you have spent and how much you have left to spend. Take Andrew Jackson’s advice: “Live within your means, never be in debt, and by husbanding your money you can always lay it out well.”

12. Make a debt repayment plan and budget.

With your debt repayment plan and budget in mind, make small adjustments to your everyday life. Take these baby steps to a life of debt freedom.

Start walking wherever you can to save money on gas. If you do have to drive, then combine your errands into one trip. If you usually drive yourself or children to extracurricular activities, see if you can carpool.

13. Become a thrifty spender.

It is easy to spend more than we have when buying household items and food.

You need to be conscious of how much you are spending. Become a coupon cutter and a voucher saver- every penny will help.

Take a shopping list with you so that you do not throw in items you do not need.

Take the budgeted amount with you and take a calculator or your phone, adding up the items as you go along to make sure you do not overspend. Go for the basics- buy the home brand version of everything.

14. Even better- do all of your shopping online.

Use the internet to purchase your weekly groceries. This way, you can compare the prices of all of the goods, look at how much you are spending, and take advantage of all the deals.

15. Sell off what you do not need.

There are so many ways that you can sell your unwanted and unnecessary items.

You can use apps such as Depop to sell old clothes, and sites such as eBay and Gumtree to sell off clothes, furniture, DVDs- anything.

Get your items into the best condition possible and use excellent wording to really sell your items. Be brutal- don’t hold on to anything that you do not need or use.

16. Change the way that you spend money every day in order to experience a life of debt freedom.

The best way to be spending money- to use cash. Dave Ramsey says: ‘Debt is dumb. Cash is king’ and he is right.

It is easier to keep track of your spending as you have the money right in front of you, you cannot borrow from what you do not physically have.

Of course, there are some things that you cannot pay for with cash, however, use cash for all of your daily expenses. Definitely do not use checks.

These are very rare these days anyway, simply because they take so long to process.

You can write a check when you have money in the bank, yet it may not be processed until three weeks later when you do not have the money to cover this in the bank, so you hit fees every day until you can cover the cost of the check.

‘Don’t write any check that your tail can’t cash’– Bo Diddley. Whatever you do, do not use credit cards.

They have the highest rate of interest. This is not money that you have, it is money that you are borrowing, so stop borrowing. Cut up your cards to avoid all temptation to use them.

17. Reward yourself.

This is going to be a long journey to living a debt free life, so make sure that it is a lifestyle change and you do not slip back into your old habits.

Let yourself have a treat when you have paid off a debt- like going out for a meal or having a drink at the bar with your friends.

Yes, you have to be frugal, but you can treat yourself once in a while (as long as you do not go crazy and undo all of your hard work!).

Conclusion

Follow these baby steps to debt freedom and you will be living a debt-free life. It may take months or years, but eventually, it will happen to you.

Just remember to stay on track- do not make any excuses and do not let yourself slip. If you do slip, just get right back into the habit of living to a budget.

Debt makes slaves of us all, handing over money each month to pay back the money we once borrowed.

Heed the words of William Shakespeare: ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender is, for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry’.

Free yourself of your debts- and enjoy a life of debt freedom today.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4 Keys To Freeing Yourself From Debt

Debt Solutions

Debt is a way of life for many Americans. We owe money on our homes, our cars, our possessions (from furniture to clothes), and our education.

Many Americans are so mired in debt they are not even sure just how much they owe and to whom — even worse they sometimes don’t even remember just what caused their debt.

Some debt is good for you. For example, what you owe on your home can provide a nice way to balance out your income tax.

A little debt is not a bad thing either as making regular payments to various creditors helps build your credit rating which makes it easier for you to obtain loans at good rates.

However, the truth is that most Americans have more than a little debt and many owe far too much money and are already, or soon will be, in financial trouble as a result.

Finding yourself owing a lot of money is not the end of the road and you can stop your cycle of debt by taking four positive steps to break the cycle.

1. Keys To Freeing Yourself From Debt: Attack Your High-Cost Debts.

This likely includes credit cards where you may be paying high minimum payments and high-interest rates.

Pay off the balances on credit cards carrying the highest interest rates first.

Continue making your minimum payments for lower-interest cards but concentrate on paying off the highest interest.

When the high-cost cards are paid off then work to eliminate the balances on your other cards.

2. Keys To Freeing Yourself From Debt: Reach Out To Your Creditors.

If you are going to be late or have difficulty paying your minimum payments then contact the credit card company.

Even if you can make all your payments in a timely fashion there are two benefits you can reap from contacting the card issuer.

First, you may be able to negotiate lower rates or more favorable terms.

Second, they might be able to recommend alternatives that can minimize damage to your credit rating.

3. Keys To Freeing Yourself From Debt: Consolidate Your Debts As Much As Possible.

You can accomplish this in a number of ways. One possibility is simply transferring balances from one credit card to another with a lower rate, but be aware of transfer fees before choosing this option.

Another possibility, if you own your own home, is to take out a home equity loan or line of credit which should have a lower interest rate than most credit cards can offer as well as offering tax deductions.

Finally, you can also consider a secured loan offering the value in another form of property, your vehicle for example.

4. Keys To Freeing Yourself From Debt: Don’t Sacrifice Your Retirement Savings.

Obviously paying off your debt should be a high financial priority but cutting what you save for retirement to do so may not be the wisest course, especially if that becomes a long-term habit or if you are losing out on your employer’s matching funds as a result.

Perhaps you may be able to borrow against (or from) your retirement funds at a lower interest rate which will allow you to continue to save for retirement while also getting out from under your debt.

While owing money may well be the American way it can also be a tremendous burden to bear.

You can shed the weight of your load or at least trim it down to a more manageable level by taking these four steps.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How To Do Personal Financial Planning

Frugal Living

Managing money could be hard and not everyone is proficient at arranging they financial planning. For some, controlling finances is just an actual battle and they’ll be much better looking for an experienced advisor to provide them with financial planning suggestions. In the event you were to examine most of the economic and investment opportunities it could take quite some time plus a large amount of pressure to work through what are the greatest for the unique scenario.

Professional advice from the financial specialist will make a big difference to your future. Whenever choosing a specialist you need to be cautious as many may care about nothing other than earning money from anyone and in addition they will propose possibilities that can benefit them as far as how much payment they’ll produce that you don’t need. You desire one that is going to meet your needs along with your best interests.

Should you be considering investing in the inventory promoting you need to bear in mind that the fiscal adviser can’t let you know for 100% certainty which shares are worth buying. The stock market, like several opportunities, possesses its dangers and will be incredibly unstable. Whenever you analyze the stock market you are able to discover many trends and certainly will produce a superior decision according to those traits, but there’ll never be considered a 100 PERCENT guarantee of earnings.

Many financial planners can get compensated by profits, when they market anyone something they will earn a fee. This is simply not always a negative factor because so many experts will place anyone while in the proper course, but there are a few which can be only enthusiastic about simply how much fee they produce. Generally you must never hop in and get the first thing an advisor recommends, but listen to their recommendations, get other views then create the very best choice for your own personal predicament.

You must never trust someone providing financial advice until they themselves live by that same tips. In case your economic specialist is not effective at generating money themselves together with the guidance they’re providing you, then why could you trust them together with your income? Though it is hard to understand if a is earning profits of his assets or not without receiving also private with them.

It’s best to see a fiscal adviser as anyone to tell you what your alternatives are, rather than someone merely to tell you how to proceed along with your cash. In case you are never confident about anything subsequently question them queries, request as many questions while you have to, after all this can be your financial potential at spot.

A financial coordinator must provide you with each of the pros and cons of each and every investment technique so that you can then proceed and produce the best choice in regards to what path to get. If a financial advisor appears like many he’s thinking about is building a sales, next I’d walk away and discover another that is considering working for you make a choice.

When you are making judgments about income and about your potential, it’s very important to research your options and not take someone’s expression. Don’t only trust everyone; take the time to interview economic organizers until you locate the one that you are feeling relaxed dealing with. You would like the one that takes the full time to comprehend your aims along with your wants and certainly will allow you to accordingly. Superior financial planning assistance can be among the finest opportunities that one may produce.

Thank you regarding reading, How to do Personal Financial Planning . I am hoping that the info discussed in this essay has assisted you.

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Best Debt Consolidation Program

Debt Consolidation

If you’re deep in debt and having difficulty paying your bills, one of the best sources of debt consolidation advice and help is a credit counseling company.

You might be asking the question, How do I, Find The Best Debt consolidation Program.

Credit counseling companies can offer you debt consolidation advice including how to use credit lines wisely, helping you to establish a workable budget, and how to keep track of your bills and best manage your money.

A trained and certified debt consolidation advice specialist can arrange a repayment plan with all of your creditors and place you on the track to financial security.

Once you have selected a reputable consolidation advice agency, you will be asked to provide information about your income, expenses and debts.

The counselor then evaluate the information and discuss your situation with you before making recommendations and offering the most appropriate debt consolidation advice for your situation to help you address your financial problems.

Some useful pieces of debt consolidation advice may be participation in an educational class, enrolling in a debt-management/repayment plan.

However, the debt consolidation advice may extend to areas other than financial which include referral to another organization, such as a relationship counseling or state employment agency for assistance.

After all, the debt consolidation advice service understands that there are many underlying factors that led to your financial difficulties and that these also have an impact on other areas of your life.

You need to spend some time researching your options and take extra care to select a reputable debt consolidation advice agency.

Most importantly you should be able to find a debt consolidation advice agency that has satisfied clients, offers personalized service from trained counselors, can educate you how to make appropriate financial choices and will provide you with the tools you need to achieve financial security.I recommend National Debt Relief.

National Debt Relief is one of the country’s largest and one of the most reputable debt settlement companies.

They are made up of energetic, smart & compassionate individuals who are passionate about helping thousands of Americans with debt relief.

Most importantly they’re all about helping they customers through a tough financial time in their lives with education and individual customer service.

They are dedicated to helping individuals and families rid their lives of burdensome debt.

They specialize in debt settlement and have negotiated settlements for thousands of creditor and collection accounts.

They provide our clients with both our expertise and our proven results.

This means helping consumers in their time of hardship to get out of debt with the least possible cost.

It can also mean conducting financial consultations, educating the consumer and recommending the appropriate solution.

They core services offer debt settlement as an alternative to bankruptcy, credit counseling, and debt consolidation.

They will become your number one advocate group to help you re-establish financial stability as quickly as possible

Don’t be tempted to think that just because a debt consolidation advice company has a big advertising campaign means it is the best.

Quite often the only reason that a debt consolidation advice service has placed large and numerous adverts in various forms of media it is because they have not got enough clients!

You would also be wise to ignore telephone calls or e-mails that arrive out of the blue from debt consolidation advice companies offering their services.

The best debt consolidation advice services will often rely on past clients for referrals; they do not need to solicit business through constant television advertising, infomercials, and telemarketing or spam e-mails.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net