Have you given in to the temptation of credit cards and ended up in a bit of a pickle?
Sit down and pull up a chair: welcome to the ever-growing club of people who have consumer debt. Your biggest problem right now is getting out of this mess without having to pay anyone to help you.
Depending on how much credit card debt you have, you usually have the following choices at this point:
- Debt Management.
- Consolidate into a loan.
- Bankruptcy.
Don't do anything!
Have you given in to the temptation of credit cards and ended up in a bit of a pickle?
Sit down and pull up a chair: welcome to the ever-growing club of people who have consumer debt. Your biggest problem right now is getting out of this mess without having to pay anyone to help you.
Depending on how much credit card debt you have, you usually have the following choices at this point:
- Consolidate into a loan.
- Debt Management.
- Bankruptcy.
Do not anything.
Don't worry about how long it takes to pay off the cards.
- Just pay the minimum and keep spending.
- Make a DIY plan that works.
The most common solutions, like consolidation loans and debt management, are the ones that put your money in the pockets of other people. I don't know about you, but I don't think you should have to spend more money or borrow more money to get out of debt.
So how does a DIY system work?
If you break it down into five steps, it looks like this:
- Talk about how you spend your money and why you're in this mess.
You have to be in charge of your money, not the other way around, if you want to win with money and have a good financial future. Set yourself some goals for the future that are both realistic and worthwhile.
- Know what your choices are, how they work, and why they won't work for you.
You will be tempted by quick fixes like consolidation loans and debt management that promise to make everything better. As was already said, consumer debt is a multibillion-dollar business that makes a lot of money. Your plan to do it yourself doesn't include *paying to get out of debt.
- Know what's going on.
Budgeting is a part of any plan to get out of debt. You won't have trouble making a budget as long as you've stuck to the rest of the plan so far, have good goals, and don't plan to take an easy but expensive way out.
Your credit score is something else you should know. There are so many mistakes on people's credit scores that cause them to pay more interest than they should. If you can get lower rates or cards with 0% APR to move high-interest debt to, you need to know about it.
- Keep your expenses low, your income high, and your cash flow strong.
You should pay less for utilities and other day-to-day costs if you can. If you want to be successful at this, you'll need to get very good at saving money, which is a very fine art.
Home economics, learning how to be a smart consumer, and looking for deals can save you a lot of money that you can use to pay off your debts faster.
If you want to take it a step further, you can create a second way to make money. You could get a second job or use a skill or strength you already have to make money on the side.
With all the options available online, it's never been easier to find people who want your knowledge, experience, or skills and are willing to pay you for them.
- Make a plan and start following it.
After you've done the first four steps and set up some strong foundations, you can now make a "snowball" plan that is quite effective. That is a plan that works better the more you use it.
This step is completely dependent on the first four steps, which will give you an extra amount you can use to pay off your credit card debt faster. As you pay off debts, the number goes up. This makes it easier to pay off the rest of your debts and saves you a lot of interest in the process.
It is possible to use a do-it-yourself plan and have a lot of success with it. You will have to work hard and be disciplined, but the other options will cost you more and keep you in debt for longer.
It's your money and it's your life. If you really want to own both, you have to take charge and not let someone else do it for you. You can choose to be in charge or to be controlled.
