Reducing Debt
Reducing Debt
So you’re looking at your monthly bills, and your debt load is becoming unmanageable. After paying the rent, stocking up on groceries and putting gas in the car, you can just barely make the minimum payments on your credit cards and other loans. What should you do? By carefully examining your spending patterns and making small sacrifices, you can reduce or eliminate your debt faster than you might think.
Getting debt advice can be tricky. Not everyone wants to expose their personal business to others. There are many organizations available to help you without being judgmental. A quick Internet search will help you find one in your area. Make an appointment, and spend the time gathering up all your bills and paycheck stubs. One of their trained counselors will sit down with you and go through your spending step by step, helping you create a personal plan to get out from under.
There’s a lot you can do on your own, too.
Do you buy lunch every day? You’re probably spending about $ 10 per day to do this – think about packing a sandwich and carrying it to work it’s healthier, and you can save $ 40 to $ 50 per week money you can apply directly to your debt load. Do you really need that fancy coffee drink every morning? Brewing your own can save you another $ 25 per week, or $ 100 a month. There are many similar savings you can find, like switching to basic cable from the bigger packages, or switching it off altogether. Keeping your car in tip-top shape can also save you money by saving gas at $ 4 per gallon, every gallon you don’t burn is money in your pocket.
Now that you’ve identified these savings, and worked out a plan, it’s time to put it into action.
Pick your smallest debt first and apply all your savings to it, while still maintaining minimum payments on the rest. Once that smallest debt is gone (and you’ll be pleased at how quickly it’ll melt away) take the money you were paying on it and apply it to the next highest balance, and so on. Rolling up your debt this way will give you fast, positive results.
It’s very important for your morale to see your debt falling, month by month. Most importantly, don’t expect miracles. It took you some time to build up this debt doesn’t it make sense that it’ll take time to eliminate it as well? Create your plan and work it every month. Soon enough you’ll get out from under.
Daniel Blinman is writing on behalf of Money Matters, who offer Bristol debt advice and debt advice Bristol
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May 2, 2012 



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