Sep

The Best Debt is No Debt - How to be 100% Debt Free by Year End

Author: Sally Croft

Owing money to anyone can be a real pain but when you owe money on your Student Loans it can affect all aspects of your life. Your credit score will be lower which keeps you from being able to purchase a car or home and it can even keep you from being able to qualify for additional student loans if you want to get a higher degree. The best way to handle debt is by not having any debt at all. If you already have outstanding debt, you need to figure out how to get out of debt and stay that way.

Looking at Your Debt

The first thing you need to do is take a look at your overall debt and take an honest look at your finances. If you have outstanding Student Loan Debt in addition to credit card debt and regular monthly bills, you are not in the best financial shape. You are probably not paying your bills on time, missing payments and only making the minimum payment on your debt. This means you will be in debt for years to come. Not just a few years, you could be paying on these debts for decades if you do not handle them now. The most important thing you can do is start planning and paying if you expect to be debt free by the end of the year, if not within the next few years.

Planning

Many, many people handle their Student Loan Debt by not bothering to open the bill statements because they cannot make payments. It is time to open that drawer and make a financial plan for your future. You have to figure out which bills can be postponed, reduced and paid immediately. In many cases, Federal Student Loans can be postponed for a certain period due to your personal hardship in paying them off. Credit card debt can be reduced with a simple phone call to the company to request the rates be lowered. Outstanding bills, such as utility bills, can be put on payment plans which reduce your overall monthly output of payments. With a few calls and a good plan, you can get your finances under control and on the road to debt freedom.

Consolidation

One of the easiest ways to reign in your debt is by taking out a Debt Consolidation Loan. This loan will combine all of your outstanding debts into a single loan amount that you can pay off with one monthly payment. Taking out a loan like this ends the collections calls and makes your budget considerably more manageable. You need to be careful when you take out a loan like this because there are plenty of companies that will take advantage of your situation and offer you a high interest rate and inflexible terms. Shop around a while before you take out a consolidation loan and talk to people you know who have taken out these loans. You can get a good loan or avoid a bad one just by talking to friends and family.

Staying Debt-free

Consolidation does not mean you are debt free totally because you have to pay off the Debt Consolidation Loan. It does mean that you are in control of your finances and are on your way to being debt free. This can be done in considerably less than a year. With a few days worth of calling, you can have your finances under control and feel a little freer within a single month.

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debt consolidation says:

October 2, 2008 at 6:00 am

Debt consolidation involves tackling one major issue at a time. If you attempt to service all of your debt simultaneously with a limited amount of funds, you could stretch yourself too thin, leaving you without enough money to buy month-to-month essentials.

Get a Payday Loan says:

February 19, 2009 at 8:12 pm

You can get a payday loan online using conventional methods. And you can use it for whatever you want, even for plastic surgery! But make sure the payday loans don’t have crazy high interest rates. If so you may end up owing a lot and needing a debt & bankruptcy lawyers to help you get out of debt. These type of lawyers have been growing in popularity.

Justin says:

March 5, 2009 at 12:55 am

There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also.

Matthond says:

March 19, 2009 at 10:09 pm

I’ve never given this a try, but I think it’s about time I do.

Sally Croft says:

March 20, 2009 at 12:07 am

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments.

clinton Garceau says:

March 26, 2009 at 4:55 am

Keep working ,great job!

Craig Bailey says:

April 26, 2009 at 7:56 pm

For a brand new blogger this is a great article and site. Thanks!

jane says:

July 10, 2009 at 3:01 am

So many things to think about.
Good Article!

Rosalinda Poulson says:

November 28, 2009 at 8:50 am

Hi, I have just now come across this site whilst I’m hunting around online as I am looking for some information on debt relief!. I think it’s a good blog so I’ve bookmarked this site and I will come back soon to give it a more detailed look when I’m more free.

Gerda Overly says:

December 9, 2009 at 4:41 pm

Useful info here and if you discover yourself a similar position there are quite a few strategies you can make use of to manage your credit card accounts effectively. If you are going to open up a single credit card checking account, you will likely want to generate sure that you have a Visa or a MasterCard. These cards are accepted by the majority retailers, whereas other cards like American Express or Find may not be.

Jo Jo Sands says:

December 24, 2009 at 7:18 am

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