If you feel like you are stuck with insurmountable debt, do not worry. There is almost always a way out of debt, you just have to be vigilant about paying it off. Keeping this in mind, here are some top ways that you can quickly reduce the debt you have hanging over your head.
Add Up the Debt
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The first thing that you need to do to get rid of your debt is to find out how much debt you are actually in. Add up all of the loans that you have, whether they be a mortgage, student loan, auto loan, credit card, whatever they happen to be. Do not include such things as rent or utilities. These are known as recurring bills and can never be paid off since they happen every month no matter what. Once you have tallied up your total debt, it is time to take the next step.
Choose an Avalanche or A Snowball
There are two main ways to pay off large amounts of debt. The first is the avalanche method. This method is meant to lessen the amount of interest that you pay over the life of the debt. You pay off the loans with the highest interest rate first by paying the minimums on all loans and then putting as much extra as possible on the loan with the highest interest rate. The snowball method seeks to encourage you by putting the loans in order from lowest to highest, making minimum payments on all of them, and putting the extra funds on the lowest amount, then working your way up the ladder of debt.
Consolidate When Possible
Another tool in your debt arsenal is the ability to take out a loan to consolidate multiple loans of a specific variety that you may have. For instance, most people have student loans that originate from different lenders. These can have different interest rates as well as be exceptionally bothersome to keep track of to pay on time every month. Shop around for a company that is able to consolidate these student loans for you and take advantage of their online refinance calculator to estimate your new monthly payments. By doing this, you can literally watch your debt disappear. Late payments and confusing multiple monthly payments are now a thing of the past.
Strip Your Budget
The next step is to do an individual voluntary arrangement and look at your monthly expenditures and strip away everything you cannot live without. What is a DMP? This isn’t to say that you’ll do without them, but with most expenses, you’ll have access to free options. For instance, instead of paying for monthly streaming entertainment, there are plenty of free ad-supported options that air older movies and tv shows or if you need to see the latest releases, check them out in DVD form from your local library. The same can be done for physical books or even e-books. Instead of paying for name-brand food items, purchase generic brands instead. Very often, these are the exact same products, just with a different label.
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