If you have reached the point of no return with your debt, concentrate now on the solutions that are available to you. Before you know it you could be making significant strides in paying off your debt.
Reduce Spending
It sound so simple, but a sure way to reducing your is to spend less money. Apply the money you save to your eliminating existing debt. At first you might think this will not generate enough savings to be a serious solution, but it all depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice to get yourself out of debt.
Eat at Home, Don’t Dine Out
One relatively easy, and heart-healthy, way to spend less is to cut back significantly on the amount of restaurant food you eat or the take-out locations you patronize. Not only is a home cooked meal less expensive, it is almost always healthier and better for you than restaurant food.
Limit your coffee to one or two cups per day at home. Skip the runs for espresso or latte. If you feel you can’t give up the fancy coffees all at once, start by skipping them one day at a time, then stretch that to two days, three days, and so on. If it is the caffeine you miss, learn to like diet soda, which you can buy in bulk and consume for considerably less money than you are paying for the fancier drinks.
Accumulate Your Small Change
Believe it or not, small change adds up. If you must use your credit cards, most banks today offer a plan whereby you can round all your credit and debit card purchases up to the nearest dollar and have the difference deposited into a savings account. At least once a month, transfer the funds from savings to checking and use that to pay off your debt. This solution is a painless one that you may never notice.
Sell a Vehicle
If you haven’t noticed, cars are expensive. The price of gas is skyrocketing, seemingly with new highs every day, and it shows no signs of coming back down in the immediate future. Insurance premiums increase every year as well, even if you never have an accident or make a claim. If your family has two vehicles (or more), try to rework your schedules and your lifestyle so that you can get by with one less car. This is a solution that can make a significant difference. You can save hundreds of dollars every month without an additional car payment, insurance payment, maintenance costs, and gas for the extra car in your budget.
Whatever solution you should choose to implement, make sure to use the money you have saved in order to pay down or pay off your debt. Take an oath right now to apply any extra cash or windfalls you receive to reducing your debt. Vow that from now on, every cash birthday gift, every vacation or annual bonus, tax refund, and other windfall you receive will go to pay off your debt.
