By Cathy Jones on August 18, 2010
.jpg.aspx?width=75&height=75) Now you have the debt, and no matter your situation, you are just getting by, or perhaps not.
While loans for large items are a great way for us to buy the things we need without making a huge cash outlay, they can also be a burden. Especially at times when we let our wants and desires overtake our common sense! We get credit cards, and not thinking of the consequences, we go and get “things” we want, but don’t necessarily need. Before you know it, the bills start rolling in and we start to realize the gravity and severity to which we have put ourselves in!
This situation can be greatly improved if we are diligent in our activities that I am going to discuss in this article. Getting bills paid off and freeing ups funds can make life easier and better for us in many ways. We can now save for our children’s education, save for a great family vacation, etc.
Some of the things you can do may seem simple and benign, but truly implementing them and being diligent and consistent with them can, for some, be difficult.
The first step that can be a good thing, is to gather all of your bills and debts, and head to a good financial counselor. Some banks may also have this service and offer it free of charge to their customers! They can assist you in making a plan for paying off your debts that won’t keep you just barely floating by each month. Some of them work with creditors to renegotiate lowering payments to a bearable level.
There are other simpler things we can do to get more money. Things like taking a look at you household services like cable, internet service, etc., and either reducing them or turning them off temporarily. For example, you can reduce your cable bill by going to the plan that is the cheapest, getting rid of all the premium services they charge extra for. Turn off multiple cell phones, suspending your contracted services temporarily is sometimes allowed by certain cell phone companies. Washing clothes in cold water, and hand washing dishes saves money on your electricity. Like I said before, it may be difficult for some, given that we may be struggling as it is. But in the long run, doing the little things can not only generate more money for us, it teaches us to conserve and save on some of our limited natural resources, especially the children!
Paying any extra amount we can on our debts, can get it paid off much sooner! Paying this way saves the time that interest is tacked on the debt, saving you money! And you keep your excellent credit rating intact. If we simply pay the minimum on credit cards, you could pay for 50 years and pay it off as long as you don’t use it again!
Take the time to develop and follow through with these steps, and you will be ahead before you know it!
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