becoming debt free in a few steps

posted by askmrmortgages on (5 years, 11 months ago)

With the rising living costs, practically everyone ends up in debt at one time or the other in their lives. Landing in debt does not signify the end of the world. With a little dedication and calculations, debt can be eradicated in a few steps.

The first thing that has to be done is to take note of your entire loan and credit information and go over it thoroughly. Note the monthly installment you make, the interest rate you are paying, the debt amounts of the different creditors and the terms of each debt. Then you have to write your monthly income from all sources to find out what your estimated monthly expenses are.

Next, calculate the amount you spend as payments for debt, and the amount of interest that debt incurs per month. Decide which debts have to be covered fist. It is always better to pay off credit card debt and small loans first as they charge higher interest. You can clear low-rate student loans and home loans later because of their lower interest rate.

To become debt free, you should first approach the high-interest credit card companies first to negotiate for lower interest rates and to move your balances to a less expensive credit card. You could perhaps take out a personal loan from your bank to cover a credit card debt that proves to be too large to handle. The interest rate for a personal loan is lower than the credit card's and is thus easier to pay.

Opting for refinance like debt consolidation is a good choice to get out of debt. This way you don't have to answer many creditors, and have to make only a single payment to the debt consolidation company everyday. Taking some home equity to clear a high-interest debt is also a good option to come out of debt.

Once you make your calculations and have lowered the interest rates of your loans with debt consolidation loans, create a monthly payment schedule. Sign up for automatic bill payment through the bank to make sure that you stick to your payment plan. You can keep track of your credit by registering for online credit monitoring wherein you will be sent quarterly credit reports, credit alert emails and trending charts to get an idea of how your credit improves with time. Set goals that you will have to maintain and you will finally become debt free!

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