By Tim McMahon, editor
If you are one of the millions in debt, then you are no stranger to the harassing calls from creditors at all hours and the burdens related to being in debt. Some may say good credit doesn’t matter… but sooner or later a time will come when you will hit a brick wall due to your poor credit. It may be when seeking a new home, car, or even a student loan.
You certainly don’t want the worry of debt always looming over your head. Managing debt should be a high priority and can be approached in several different ways, accommodating your actual debt as well as your income and daily spending. You want to get out of debt as quickly as possible, so tomorrow can be full of opportunities rather than worry and burden.
The first step to managing debt and ensuring you don’t accrue more debt is to always take a minute to stop and think before getting into any financial obligation. New debt should only be taken on when you have a written plan on how you plan to pay it off. This will ensure that you can get out of debt again quickly and easily. Debt should not be incurred for consumer items unless you can get the money interest-free. I know this may sound extreme but that consumer item may be obsolete or trash a year from now so you shouldn’t still be paying for it!
Originally, the purpose of debt was to allow investors to multiply their money by investing in things that will produce more than enough to cover the interest costs. Later this rule was relaxed to allow the purchase of a house since after WWII most returning soldiers couldn’t afford to buy a house. Later it was relaxed even further by issuing credit cards… but most people paid them off every month. Credit was expanded further with car loans. All of this debt creation allowed people to get into debt way over their heads.
If you find yourself in over your head… there are people out there to help you, so you don’t have to approach this matter by yourself. You can always get a consultation from several different debt management companies (or better yet a non-profit like Crown Financial), which will give you a better picture of your situation and the best way to relieve yourself of the debt. In some cases, you may just need a little financial management. In other cases, you may want to look into getting debt settlement services or even debt consolidation to reduce your debt and monthly payments. But be careful to check that the fees charged for these services aren’t going to create more problems than they solve.
One way to pay off credit card debt is through a zero-interest credit card. If you qualify this will allow you to transfer your balance and give you from 6 months to 18 months interest-free in order to pay it off. This card should not be used to rack up new debt but to hold your old debt while you are in the process of paying it off. It is a simple process. Transfer your old balance to a zero-interest card and then get rid of your old cards. If they have annual fees all the better put that money toward paying off the new card. Be sure to check for any balance transfer fees before you transfer. If your old card had an 18% interest rate and your new card has Zero you will be able to have 18% more of your money going toward paying off your debt which will allow you to pay it off that much sooner.
If you make debt elimination a priority instead of consumption, it is easier than you think. Stories abound of people actually paying off massive amounts of debt in short periods of time once they put their mind to it. Often it only takes from one to three years, simply by making it a priority. And an interest free credit card is a good way to start. Check out the best deals in Balance Transfer Credit Cards.
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