Get Rid of Debt and Financial Freedom

Debt could be something you could hardly manage. Unfortunately, it could be easier to accumulate more of it than to get rid of it. The key to eliminating it and preventing being deeply indebted is to observe sound debt management. Financial and self discipline would practically play an important role.

To get into a sought-after financial freedom, start observing strategies to become debt-free. Start by reviewing all your current debts regularly. By monitoring your own finances, you would be more aware of how much you could make and spend in a month. By keeping track of your debts, you would know how much you should spend on repayments and until when you would shoulder debt obligations.
Now is the time to consider debt consolidation. It is one effective strategy to lower your interest payments. Many debt consolidation loans offer lower interest rates and waived charges. If your debts are consolidated, you could avoid late payments and possible defaults, which are both costly. You could also obtain better terms on loans. Here are some other tips that could help you get rid of your debts so you could take the path towards your sought-after financial freedom.


Credit card management

Always intend to settle your credit card balances at the end of the interest-free period. By doing so, you could effectively prevent incurring any interest cost. Thus, you should take note of your credit cards’ cutoff periods so you know when to pay in advance to avoid interest payments.

Close your credit card accounts that are not useful and are imposing higher interest rates or charges. Resist the temptation to obtain more credit cards, no matter how attractive the features and offers are. It could be ideal to retain just a single credit card. Choose to keep the one with a longer interest-free period, lower rates, and good balance transfer offers.

If you have decided to keep some credit cards, ask the credit card firms to lower your credit limit. This is an effective way to start observing financial and spending discipline. Take note of each minimum amount payable. You may decide to pay more than minimum required to prevent accumulation of interest-incurring credit card debt.

Disciplined approach

Emphasis is always on disciplined approach to spending. There is a need to make sure that debts are not obtained just to make unnecessary or luxurious purchases. Another guide is to keep your debts lower than the valuation of your current assets. Borrow an amount that you could comfortably and possibly shoulder each month. Do not obtain debts that command monthly repayments that are greater than how much you could afford.

Lastly, aim to take control back to your hands. Intend not to get into any trouble involving your debts. Never try to ignore or hide it. You could never run away from any financial obligation. Trying not to shoulder debt repayments would only take you to so much trouble. Work out a feasible budget for debt management and try to stick with it, no matter what.

Chip Away at Debt

Debt is a burden. It’s overwhelming. It sits on our shoulders. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We often think of debt as something that requires a lot of work to manage. We think it requires getting a second job, going to debt management counseling or even winning the lottery! However, there are actually a lot of little things that you can do to chip away at your debt and making it more manageable.


Here are ten easy ideas for chipping away at your debt:

1. Put 10% of every paycheck towards paying off your debt. This should be in addition to the minimum payments that you are making each month. It sounds like a hard thing to do but once you get in the habit of it you’ll find that it’s a really simple way to start bringing your debt down to a more manageable place.

2. Increase your minimum payment by $10 each month. If you only make minimum payments each month then just start pretending that the number on the statement is $10 higher than it says it is. Pay the new amount.

3. Use discount codes when you shop online. Take whatever amount you’ve saved and immediately put it towards paying off your debt. The little bits will add up without straining your budget. Same deal goes for using in-store coupons.

4. Stop paying one monthly fee. Find a payment that you make every month that you can give up. Examples include your second car, a membership to a local yoga studio or your cable TV. Put all of that money towards paying off your debt.

5. Skip one entire section of the grocery store on each trip. This week skip the milk aisle and figure out how to do without dairy for a week. Next week skip the meat aisle and make vegetarian meals. Put the savings towards your debt.

6. Have a yard sale. Springtime is a great time to de-clutter your home and sell off all of the things that you no longer need. Take all of the cash that you’ve earned and make a payment on the balance of your debt.

7. Skip your annual vacation. You can go for one year without visiting your hometown or going to Disneyland. That money can make a nice dent in your credit card balance.

8. Check if you have any rewards. Many people have rewards on their credit cards that they haven’t cashed in. Get the cash back immediately and use it to pay down the amount you owe on the card.

9. Look at your bill statement once a week. The point of this exercise is to keep you focused on your debt repayment goals. Just reminding yourself of why you’re trying to pay off your debt really will help!

10. Set one more small goal. Learning to set debt repayment goals and meet them will assist you in paying off your debt bit by bit while making it feel more manageable at the same time.

This is a guest post by Kathryn Vercillo, a personal finance writer who writes about debt management, smart credit card use and saving money.