10
Steps For Eliminating Your Debts
Posted under by adminEliminating your debts is not extremely difficult if you are willing to formulate a plan and stick to it. The first step is the easiest. Stop creating more debt. If this means cutting up your credit cards, do it. Do not close them. This will lower your FICO score.
The second step is to list all of your debts. Include the balance, interest rate and minimum payment. The second half of this step is to rank your debts in the order they will be paid off if you make only the minimum payment. For instance, if you have an account that will be paid off in 6 months, 22 months, 18 months and 9 months, The 6 month account should be at the top of the list and the 22 month account at the bottom of the list.
Some people say you should pay the account with the highest interest rate off first, which is an acceptable method of ranking your bills, but the newest way of paying them is to eliminate the one with the shortest pay back time first and keep moving down the list. There are two reasons for this. The first one is that people tend to stay motivated as they see progress. The sooner you are able to cross the bills off the list, the faster you will see progress. The second reason is that the fewer number of bills you have the less likely you are to accidently overlook one or pay one late.
The next step in the process is to figure out where you can come up with an extra 10% of your gross income to put towards paying your debts. This money can come from reducing your expenses, increasing your income or both. A lot of people think there is nowhere to cut their expense, but if you look you will find it. Both cable and cell phones are not considered necessities. Your answer may be as simple as working extra hours each week or getting a part time job. There are more options than you think when it comes to finding extra money.
This extra 10% will go towards paying off your first bill, while you make minimum payments on all the rest. When the first bill is paid off, the money you were paying towards it will go towards the second bill on the list. This will be in addition to the minimum payment you are already paying on the second bill. You will follow this plan until all of your debts are paid. Consumer debts can usually be paid off in 3-5 years.
Once you have paid all the debts, it is time to take the money and look in to a plan for your future. This is the part of the plan that is going to get you to fianancial freedom.



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