It is oh so easy to get yourself into debt these days, what with the rising cost of living and capped wage increases; a couple of unexpected bills is all it takes to leave you struggling to make it to the end of the month. Credit cards can be a major cause of debt, especially if you don’t exercise a level of self-control and juggling Peter to pay Paul is only a temporary solution, as the card balance interest gradually mounts up.
Here are a few tips if you can see yourself requiring debt help.
- Talk to the experts – The worst thing you can do is stick your head in the sand and hope the problem will magically disappear; it won’t. Search online for a company that specialises in helping those with financial problems and things will immediately start to look better.
- Define the cause of the debt – If you have a few credit cards and they are the reason for the debt, you need to stop using them; cut the cards in half and the problem cannot be further compounded. Crunch the numbers to find out if your lifestyle is above your current earnings and consider approaching a debt recovery specialist.
- Consider a debt consolidation loan – If you are struggling to make several credit card payments each month, the best solution is to arrange a debt consolidation loan, which involves taking out a single loan to pay off all your debts, leaving you a single monthly payment that is affordable.
- Debt management plan – Not the same as a debt consolidation loan, the debt management plan involves talking to all your creditors and coming to an agreement to pay a fixed amount per month. You can request that interest charges are frozen; many creditors are happy to do this, as they can see you are making a serious effort to clear the debt. The other benefit of a debt management plan is that your creditors will no longer keep contacting you, as there is a workable plan in place, so that takes the pressure off you.
One of the hardest things to do is take positive steps to deal with the issue of debt, as things can seem so hopeless and if you would like to take the first steps to becoming debt free, talk to an expert and examine all the options. There are online companies that specialise in debt recovery and you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.
