ABCDEs Of Cutting Down Debt
No Credit Needed offers these "ABCDEs" for getting yourself out of debt.
Admit your past mistakes - and work to correct them.
Balance your checkbook - and find out how much money you actually have.
Commit to change - and send in an extra payment, right now.
Decide to be different - and refuse to back up.
Enjoy the process - and learn from your missteps.
There's nothing like the ahhhh feeling on the day of becoming debt free, the day you stop being slave to lenders and take more mastery of your personal destiny.
The ABCDE's Of Planning For Debt Reduction [No Credit Needed]
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Comments:
Easier said than done when you're 10k in the whole. I've taken all of my credit cards, except one for emergencies, out of my pocket. Luckily, I can now afford to pay about 1k/mo towards my credit debt and will be debt-free in about a year.
I've certainly learned my lesson.
And by whole, I really mean hole. Doh.
i tried that plan. i'm on F. F*#% it! SPENDING SPREE!
"Decide to be different - and refuse to back up."
I'll have you know that's anathema to a good sysadmin.
Pay cash. Pay off cards monthly, if you can. Pay more than the min. due. Don't use credit.
Thats all you need to know. Its common - freakin - sense.
My wife and I got a handle on our debt about two years ago, and our debt is slowly starting to negative snowball.
At this rate, we will be 'stupid' debt free in another year or two. By 'stupid' debt, I'm talking debt incurred eating out, guying video games I don't need and things like that.
It makes good sense to pay cash and leave the card for emergencies. But it is very difficult to do so. How often do we carry enough cash when we go shopping? Possibly enough for our meals, but then you walk around and see that new game console, or a bargain on something you have always wanted and, whoosh!, out comes that card for emergencies.
So the next sensible thing is to pay off card debts on time to avoid incurring additional charges.
@jacobchiong: That's why you take the "emergency" card out of your wallet and put it somewhere inaccessible. One person I know taped it to the ceiling of their closet. Mine stays locked up at home so that I can't ever use it while I'm out. If I don't have the cash or the money in my bank account for my debit card to cover the purchase, I don't need it.
@jacobchiong, a new game console or bargain is not an "emergency". It's that sort of spending behaviour that gets people heavily into debt in the first place. "Emergencies" are urgent travel to a sick family member, a hotel stay when you're stranded somewhere overnight, a car repair you never anticipated, that sort of thing. Not a Wii!
I struggle with this almost everyday. I am constantly buying and paying things around my paycheck schedule. My boyfriend and I are always trying to find ways to cut back on spending, never use our credit cards, and get close to that Millionaire lifestyle everyone dreams of. There is this one book a friend lent to me a while ago that has been helping me get closer to that Millionaire lifestyle it's called "Millionaire Zone" by Jennifer Openshaw. I did not read the whole thing word for word but skimmed over the sections that I know I needed to learn about. I am not business or money savvy at all and this book helped me with that. It can really help you see what little and big things you can do to help you get close to that Million!!
Quit using credit cards except for emergencies. Pay cash for everything.