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REDDITDebt is a serious problem for most Americans. From student loans to mortgages to car loans, there’s always some form of debt that we have to go into to make our way through life. But, as debt starts to pile it, it can become unmanageable, especially when you’re dealing with multiple creditors and high interest rates.
While it may seem impossible now, there are tried and proven ways to fight off your debt. Here are 5 tactics to use if you’re ready to pay down your debt and reach financial security and stability.
1. Organize & Have a Plan
Before you can start paying down your debt you first need to know how much you owe and who you owe it to. The first step in fighting off your debt is to be organized. Make a list of your creditors, monthly payments, interest rate, and your total payoff. This will allow you to create a plan for how you will tackle your debt.
When making a plan, one tactic is to pay off the highest interest rate debt first. By making more than the minimum payment, less of your money will go towards interest, meaning that more will go towards the principal balance. This makes it much easier and quicker to pay off debt.
2. Make a Budget
Now that you know exactly how much money you need to pay each month towards your debt, you’ll want to take the time to create a budget. Figure out how much of your income is going towards other bills, such as your mortgage, groceries, and other personal expenses. With this information you can start to create a monthly budget for yourself.
As you’re able to visualize where your money is going, you can see where there’s room for saving. Maybe you can spend less on groceries by using coupons or you can use less water and less electricity on your home to cut down on energy costs.
With a budget you can also set constraints for yourself. Create spending limits and stick with them. This way you can focus on the greater goal at hand.
3. Practice Saving Money
As you start to tackle your debt, one of the biggest things you’ll want to do is to save money. The more money you’re able to save, the more money you have to put towards paying down your debt. While saving money is easy, it helps to know of some easy saving money tips so that you can get on track. Top tips for keeping more money in your wallet include:
Cutting cable
Eating out less
Enjoying free entertainment
Being more energy conscious
Using coupons
Comparison shopping
By saving money you can focus on putting more towards your debt and finally making your way to financial freedom.
4. Practice the Snowballing Technique
As you start to pay off debt, instead of using the extra money you’ll have to buy something, put it towards your next highest interest rate loan or credit card. In the financial world this is known as snowballing. Once you pay off a debt, you’ll have freed up money that you can now put towards another debt. This should be a continuous cycle as you continue to pay off your debt and have more money available to you.
By snowballing your payments, you can pay less money towards interest and even become debt-free sooner than you imagined. The key is to stick to the plan and to avoid veering off the path. For many it can be quite tempting to spend that now free money on material items. Stick to the course and keep your end goal in mind.
5. Reward Yourself
Paying off debt is a huge achievement. After you pay off a loan or a credit card that’s been dragging you down for years, take the time out to acknowledge your achievement and reward yourself. While you don’t want to blow your budget on a high price tag item, do something that will make you happy. Toot your horn on Facebook and extend help for those who also want to pay off their debt. Take a day off work and do something you enjoy. Spend a day in bed with coffee and a movie.
By rewarding yourself, it’s much easier to stick to your goals and to keep on the path to being debt-free.
Conclusion
Getting out of debt doesn’t have to be a dream any longer. Using these 5 tips you can steadily start to pay off your debt and gain your financial freedom. While you won’t be out of a debt in just a few weeks, stick to the plan and in the long term it will be well worth it.
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