Getting out of debt on a low income

Get Out of Debt

Table of Contents

Advise on getting out of debt and saving money

Growing debt for anyone can become more of a concern if that amount just keeps on piling up and there seems to be no end in sight with being debt free. At any income level, if your spending habits get out of hand, and you are living beyond your means, then you can easily have debt that is out of control.

Budgeting!

At any income level, you need to have a budget so you know exactly how much is coming in and how much you are spending on your fixed expenses, and most importantly your variable spending. Not keeping track of these for all parties in your family can potentially lead to a debt disaster.

Options for Reducing your Expenses

We designed a money management series to specially help people in these types of situations. Taking control of your financial statements is the first step towards lessening your debt levels. https://davidsklar.com/blog/budget-basics-overview/

Reviewing your currently monthly expenses is a good place to start to have an idea of exactly what is happening with your finances.

Fixed expenses

Your fixed expenses such as rent/mortgage for example will not be an easy change in the short term for many.

Mortgage / Rent – take note of your monthly rent or mortgage payments. For your mortgage payments, take note of your interest rate, if your mortgage term is coming up, you can look to shopping around for a better rate. If you are Renting, then look at getting a smaller place at a lower cost to help keep your overall monthly costs down.

Credit Card Payment – For all of your credit cards, this includes store credit cards as well. Take note of the amounts owning on each card and their interest rates. The interest rates for some cards could be much higher than others. The interest rates on some of your cards could surprise you. Try sticking to one credit card. Try to avoid having credit cards from your favourite stores, many times their interest rates are high, and if you keep a balance on them, all that savings you thought you were getting are now gone.

Loans (Auto Loans Etc) – for every loan that you have, take note of the time left on the loan, the interest rate and amount owed.

Variable Expenses

Your variable expenses will be one of the main areas that you may discover you are spending more that you thought you were, and there can be areas where you will need to curb your spending habits. You can expand the main categories below depending on your spending habits so you can get a better idea of your approximate spending in each area. You could discover you are spending too much each week/month on fast food, coffee or restaurants.

  • Heat
  • Electricity
  • Cable
  • Phone
  • Internet
  • Clothing
  • Child Care
  • Transportation expenses
  • Entertainment/Restaurants
  • Other Variable expenses

Other Expenses

There are always expenses in other areas that can pop up that can help pile up your debt.

If you are a home owner, then setting aside emergency money for possible unforeseen expenses is advised.

  • Home Insurance
  • Taxes – Property (for home owners)
  • Auto Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Taxes – Income
  • Expenses for Holidays and Birthdays

See our Setting up Your Budget from our budgeting basic series

https://davidsklar.com/blog/budget-basics-step-3-setting-budget/ for more detailed information and spreadsheet examples.

Tally up all of your monthly expenses. Add up all of your fixed, variable and other expenses. For some of the other expanses these may be a yearly/quarterly expense. In these cases, take an average.

Next you need to determine your average income per month (after tax income). This can be per person or per household depending on your current situation.

Tallying up all your expenses and sources of income into one spreadsheet can really be eye opening. If your expenses are consistently higher than your income per month, then your debt level will continue to rise. Look to areas where you could be overspending or areas that can be reduced.

Call the licensed professionals at David Sklar & Associates at 416-498-9200 for a Free, confidential consultation. During your consultation, we will review your financial situation, and discuss the options you have for getting out of debt and getting on with your life.

Take Your First Step Towards A Debt Free Life

If you are overwhelmed by debt, call us at 1-844-962-9200 to book a FREE, confidential appointment. We will review your financial situation in detail and discuss all of your options with you. Alternatively, you can fill out the form below and our team will reach out to you. 

Share This!

The team at David Sklar and Associates Inc are very professional and are willing to help you get out of debt. Highly recommended.
Melissa MacKenzie
12:35 29 Mar 23
I would like to thank the team at David Sklar and associates inc. for all the time and effort they put in to support this process for me. This topic can be challenging to disclose but a big thank you to Christine for going above and beyond in guiding me through all my options and supporting me through the decisions. I cannot recommend this group enough , as they have shown me compassion , knowledge , and understanding throughout the entire process. I look forward to the next step of this process and learning how the proper way of becoming financially educated through the support of their financial counselling team. For anyone who is struggling , just know that there is a wonderful group of educated professionals at David Sklar who are available to help!
Michelle Plouffe
18:45 14 Mar 23
It took me awhile to get up the courage to contact David Sklar but I’m so glad I did. Trina walked through my options with me and provided the knowledge I needed to make a decision to help turn my financial situation around. She is patient and empathetic and answered any and every question that I had. Trina provided me the reassurance I needed that I was making the best decisions for me and my family. I’m so happy that I reached out and now have a plan to get back on track.
M. Mackenzie
19:59 12 Mar 23
Trina was very helpful and thorough.
Sam M
15:26 12 Mar 23
Christine was very helpful, kind, and understanding. She explained everything thoroughly, answered any questions I had, and was responsive to any concerns I had. 100% would recommend
Katherine Campbell
17:29 08 Mar 23
Jackie Stanley is excellent she took the time to explain everything to me and I am so grateful to her for giving me a fresh financial start so if you have any doubts don’t and go see her if you want to achieve financial freedom!
Heather Helfield
21:24 06 Mar 23
Amazing friendly staff that knows what they are going. They make a difficult situation not so bad. Would give 10 stars if I could.
alie Balan
22:37 25 Feb 23
Very helpful and kind and gave me all the available options before helping me decide which one was best for me. I would definitely recommend Jackie
Alison Rivard
01:01 21 Feb 23
Great experience i was in financial trouble and someone of my friends recommended this company. Cori is a wonderful and welcoming person she did a very good job and came up with a smooth and flexible monthly payment after the reduction. i highly recommend this company. Thank you David sklar and special thanks to Cori.❤️🙏🏻
Jasmine Joseph
22:08 13 Jan 23
Met up with Mr. Jason Sklar to discuss more in person, very thorough and clear. He is very kind and thoughtful, I will be referring anyone with the same situation to David Sklar & Associates.
Ariel Domingo
02:33 29 Dec 22
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