Happy New Year!! I hope your holidays were filled with family and fun!
I came across this article and found it quite insightful:
"I'm going to get out of debt this year." Sound familiar? It's a common aspiration, just like this
one: "I'm going to get healthier this year."
Both debt and poor health are burdensome: You feel it every day, and even though it weighs on
you, the changes necessary to improving your situation seem daunting and difficult. Still, taking
small strides toward these challenging goals make a huge impact on your happiness, and every
little bit of progress helps. Here are a few strategies you can try to set yourself on the path toward
eliminating your debt.
1. Low-Card DietingIf any of your debt is made up of credit card balances, one of your top priorities should be to stop
adding to them. You may not need to stop using credit cards entirely, but use them sparingly
while paying them off, so your balances go down, rather than stagnate or increase.
For some people, temptation can be too much, so you may have to cut out credit cards
completely till you've paid them off. It can take some time, but it's worth the results. The more
you eliminate, the faster you'll lose debt.
2. Spending DetoxYou're never going to stop spending completely, but you can certainly cut it out for a while.
Sometimes, eliminating spending from your routine will help you fight the impulse to buy
frivolous things and help you stick to your budget once you do return to the shopping world.
Try cutting non-essential shopping from your budget for a week or two and see how it feels.
Chances are, you'll like the lower credit card bills and higher bank account balance, not to
mention how much you'll learn about your ability to exercise self-control.
3. Credit Strength TrainingDropping debt isn't all about restriction — the best path to debt freedom involves some strengthbuilding,
too. As you cut back on spending, especially on credit cards, you'll start to boost your
credit score, but you also need to focus on making debt payments on time and avoid opening any
new credit cards or applying for loans. Good credit may help you save money on rent, utilities
and future loan products (by way of lower interest rates), which is important to keeping you
debt-free in the long run. As you work on getting rid of debt, keep an eye on your credit, to make sure everything has been
reported properly. You can check your own credit at
http://www.equifax.com4. High-Impact SavingThere are many ways to get out of debt, but sometimes a slow approach is most sustainable. By
building savings alongside your debt-payoff plan, you're protecting yourself from falling back
into debt if you have an emergency or run into unexpected expenses. If you put all your money
toward paying down debt, you're leaving little room for error: If something comes up and you
have no savings to fall back on, you'll have few options beyond going into debt again.
When creating a debt-payoff strategy, make sure it incorporates savings, too. Getting rid of debt
requires a balanced approach, otherwise you'll face years of yo-yoing in and out of debt.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/4-way ... 41428.html