Thursday

Finding Options to Help Fight Off Debt

Guest Post by Stella Walker

Getting into debt is scary. There is no denying that. You start to get this anxious feeling of being trapped; you have too many bills not paid off to think clearly. You know you have to do something, but you feel like you don't have a lot of options.

In actuality, there are a lot of options out there, and I'm not just talking about bankruptcy (although this is still viable in extreme cases). Half the battle is getting yourself out of this emotional and psychological slump and convincing yourself that you can be proactive about your debt and finances.

Cut off luxuries

If you can't pay your own bills, it's time to start making your own coffee and lunch and bringing it to work. You should also at least attempt to repair household items yourself. If there's no cancellation fee, cancel your gym membership and instead opt for good-old-fashioned jogging. While you're at it, cancel any other services that you don't need; if the service doesn't facilitate you getting out of debt, you don't need it.

Start a small business

While it is true that it generally does take some money to startup a small business, some business start-ups are actually extremely low cost. One extremely cheap startup is a snow cone stand. Have any secret hobbies or skills? Now is the time to put yourself out there and at least give it a shot. You'd also be surprised how cheap it is to start up an online business. You could even write a blog telling the story of your struggles with debt (like this one).

Balance Liquidation Plans

If you have a whole slew of credit cards with outstanding balances and frighteningly high interest rates, you should perhaps consider requesting balance liquidations plans from your creditors. While this doesn't allow you to charge to cards that you've liquidated, it does lower the interest rates to extreme degrees. Just be sure that you have ways to make necessary expenses without your cards.

Pay Cash

If you do wind up liquidating your cards, this is a great way to try budgeting with cash. The beauty of a cash budget is that it forces you not to overspend because you literally can't. You take out the amount of money you want to budget each week (or month) in cash, and if you find yourself getting low on cash, you just have to start scraping pennies and looking for food in the freezer until the set time that you allow yourself to take out more cash.

Use Envelopes

If you decide to limit your budget with cash withdrawal restraints, another great strategy is to organize separate budgets into different envelopes. For example, you'll have envelops for bills, clothes, groceries, etc. with a designated amount for each envelope. The idea here is that you limit a budget for each area of your life, and if one envelope empties to quickly, you have identified a possible spending problem in your household.

Author Bio:
Stella Walker is a freelance writer of free credit score where she writes about topics including credit, debt, investment, bankruptcy.

9 comments:

Scot said...

We seem to have similar blogs; however, mine is just getting started but I've been working toward paying off my credit card debt for a few years now. So, it started as a way to get ideas and force myself to do research. I finally joined a debt relief program two days ago, so I'm feeling some hope.

Walt said...

For me It was a relief to finally have a plan. Good luck with getting out from under.

vance said...

Later in the future when you enter round two against credit card debt you will have not one but two secured financial obligations tied to your home that must take priority over your credit card bills. You also may have other secured financial obligations such as a car loans that must take priority over the new credit card bills as well. Except this time there will be no more equity in your home to get another loan. What happens to many people is they either must file bankruptcy, or risk foreclosure.
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Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Find out why Bankruptcy BC should be

a last resort in British Columbia. Learn why people file bankruptcy in British Columbia. Learn how to file bankruptcy in

British Columbia. Learn the disadvantages of filing bankruptcy in British Columbia. Learn why Debt settlement is a valuable alternative to bankruptcy in British Columbia.

Unknown said...

Learn how to find the Best Debt Consolidation and Best Debt Relief

companies. Find the top three Best Debt Relief & Debt Consolidation Reviews companies.

Adrian Chikwanha said...

There are many debt relief companies out there, one has to be careful before enrolling into a program. Do a thorough research before signing up for a program. These programs include debt consolidation, debt settlement, credit counseling and others.
Good luck

Pay day loan said...

In my opinion, in such debt situation, firstly all spending on luxuries should be cut and then a small business should be started with full dedication so that good results can be gained.

payday lenders said...

Great way you have suggested to fight with debts.I will surely follow you as I am very burdened with heavy debts .

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