Shedding Debt
When dealing with unwanted debt and getting rid of it, you will need to be realistic. It may have built up very quickly, or accumulated little by little overtime. It will take time to start trimming it off, but with a proper plan and follow through, you can achieve your debt free goals!
While it can be quick and easy to build up debt quickly due to lines of credit, payday loans or credit cards, paying these off will take some planning, and time.
Start Tracking All of your Spending
On a monthly basis, you will need to jot down everything you have been spending. Start by creating a spreadsheet so you can have everything allotted for, including household expenses. Also, try going back a few months of expenses, gather up what data you can. Once you have enough expenses captured, you can start to see what areas you are overspending, and areas you can trim or cut all together.
Getting out of Debt
Once you have listed all your spending habits, and noted the areas you need to work on, see about the areas you can cut/trim. Think about ways to increase your monthly income (side job/overtime).
Creating a monthly plan, and having your whole family stick to this is important. Having monthly budgets for each area allotted for, and having your family follow this will help teach your kids how to better manage money and help be prepared for the future.
Saving for the Future
The faster you can pay down your debts, the more you can invest into your future. When paying down your debts and credit cards, look to pay more than the minimum amount as this will help you pay down your debt faster. Look at paying down the higher interest rate cards faster. When one debt or credit card is paid off, you can then increase the payment to the next debt, or you can also choose to save a bit more for an emergency fund or savings.
Staying Debt Free
The lessons learned from shedding that debt and keeping the excess debt off should be ongoing. Always keep in check your monthly income level, and your monthly expenditures.
