I GET IT, DEBT SUCKS!! I have been there and done that. Since Covid, a lot of us have been hit harder than ever. My wife Michelle is really great at drilling down on a budget and starting to dig out of a seemingly BIG HOLE. Here are some very helpful tips to get started, regardless of your situation. It may hurt some more than others but give it a try!
- Start by laying out all your debts - You can proritze by the expense or by what needs to be paid now or do both.
- Decide if you want to take the ‘snowball’ or ‘avalanche’ approach - Simply stated. Pay a little to each to help get them off your back and try to increase payments as time goes on. OR Pay everything you have to as many as you can at once. Avalanche is VERY stressful on a budget depending on your situation.
- Make a budget - Look at your incoming monies each month and assign what you need to your bills with necessities first and then everything else. I always feel it's better when you visualize things vs. trying to keep it in your head. It really helps us.
- Set attainable repayment goals - reach out to your creditors and BE HONEST. Don't worry about your pride, they don't care. Most will gladly work with you on a payment plan. Some money is better than none. They are not stupid and MOST are understanding IF you keep to the payment plan you ask for.
- Adjust your mindset - Have that come to Jesus talk with yourself. THIS IS GONNA HURT short term but man will you feel so much better when you get it under control.
- Consider additional income streams - "Side hustles" as they are called, A second or in some cases 3rd job part time to try and catch up. It's not easy but you must do it to get yourself on track.
- Explore alternative options for your interest rates - Could be sketch at this moment in time BUT it never hurts to reach out to your mortgage holder or car loans holder.
- Don’t skimp on saving - PINCH THOSE PENNIES!!! I've got to be honest one of the smartest things we did was start shopping at Aldi. You'd be amazed at how many items you can save as much as 50% on INCLUDING fruits and veggies and they are awesome. No, they did not pay me to say that.
- Cut the "frills" - Michelle and I chopped our cable bill down significantly, looked for streaming deals or freebies. Pluto is one of the BEST, FREE streaming sites period. Pluto.com is unreal. Again, they didn't pay me to say that 😁. We also restructured our power bill with "flex pay" and saved over $100. We restructured our internet for even more savings. There are many other things you can do so as you follow STEP #1 go back over that list and look for options.
I really hope this list can help you find some relief is this taxing, stressful environment we're living in - Riggie
photo: getty images