[aageneral] How to Reduce your Debt in 5 Easy Steps

How to Reduce your Debt in 5 Easy Steps

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How to Reduce your Debt in 5 Easy Steps

If you have incurred substantial personal debt, consider these
options: budgeting, debt consolidation, credit counselling from a
reputable organization and working with your creditors. You will
need to choose a debt reduction method that will work best for you?
The method you use will depend on your level of debt, how much spare
money you have, your level of discipline, and how quickly you want
to get out of debt.

1. REALISTIC BUDGETING

The first step towards taking control of your financial situation is
to do a realistic assessment of your income and expenditure. Work
out how much you earn (your total income) and write this figure
down. Then total your expenses. This is how much you spend each
month for rent, fuel, food, clothing, heating, water, electricity
and other bills. The difference between your total income and your
total expenses is the amount of money available to pay your
creditors or lenders.

Decide if there are any monthly expenses that you can reduce or live
without. Focus on lowering your expenses so that you can increase
your income. You'll be amazed at how many things you can do without.

a) Debt Reduction Methods

Choose a debt reduction method that fits your situation and gives
the maximum benefit. You could choose to focus on repaying debts
that are most important to your credit rating or to maintaining your
family's safety. Or you can start by paying off those debts with the
highest interest rate thus reducing the total spent on interest
charges and increasing the amount available to pay off debt.

Alternatively, you could focus on paying off bills with the lowest
balances. Then the money used for those payments can go to pay off
other debts.

If your credit payments (excluding mortgages) exceed 15-20% of your
take home pay, you can work with creditors to set up monthly
instalments that are more in line with your income.

b) Credit Cards

Transfer your credit card debts (balance) to a card offering an
introductory 0% interest rate for balance transfers. Make sure you
keep up the repayments and then just before your 0% introductory
offer is up, apply for another 0% card, transfer the balance over
before you starting paying interest – and repeat. With a good
credit record, you could do this for years, moving your debt from
one card to another until it's paid off.

3. DEBT CONSOLIDATION

This is when you use a new loan to pay off multiple debts. Your
monthly payment will be lower because repayment is spread out over a
longer period of time. This will usually eliminate the hassle of
having multiple creditors, multiple bills, and multiple payments to
make. It's very important not to take out any additional loans until
your consolidation loan has been repaid. Borrowing against your home
is a cheap way to raise money, but it's risky. If you can't
make the payments - or if your payments are late - you could lose
your home.

However, you could replace expensive debts with a cheaper personal
loan (unsecured loan). Before taking on new debts, you might want to
check out your credit history.

4. CREDIT COUNSELING

Some people are not disciplined enough to create a workable budget
and stick to it. If you can't work out a repayment plan with your
creditors and you can't keep track of mounting bills, consider
contacting a credit counselling organization or a financial advisor.
In the UK you can use free debt counselling services such as the
Consumer Credit Counselling, the National Debtline and the Citizens
Advice Bureau. Similar services are available in the US.

5. CONTACTING YOUR CREDITORS

A creditor is a company or person to whom you owe money. Many people
struggling financially ignore debts and fear contacting their
creditors. This reaction will damage your credit record. Creditors
or lenders may take action against you in an effort to get payment.
If you're finding it hard to get your bills paid, be the one to
contact creditors. They will be more willing to work with you. Work
out arrangements that satisfy you both. Explain to each lender that
you aim to repay each debt in full over time, but that they must
accept reduced repayments for now. Decide how much you can pay them
each month and set up a debt repayment plan.

Conclusion
If you're serious about reducing your debt you should stop
spending on your credit cards and stop taking out new loans. To
increase your income, consider finding a second job or a lodger.
Claim every state benefit that you qualify for and work on cutting
down your expenses. Sell stuff that you don't need on eBay or at
Car Boot fairs. Put enough money aside for emergencies, but use the
bulk of your savings to pay off debt. Debts usually cost you far
more in interest than you gain on your savings. Also, if you have a
fairly good credit record, you should transfer your debts to cheaper
lenders. Finally, shop around for better deals for services and
products that you use.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute financial advice. If
you require such advice, you should seek appropriate professional
guidance.

Copyright © 2005. Chileshe Mwape writes for Debt Consolidation
Loans UK: http://www.best-debt-consolidation-loan.co.uk/. Visit our
site to consolidate debts and apply for a loan online. This article
may be reprinted as long as all the above links are active and
clickable.

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