At times, our lives become so stressful and filled with various tasks and obligations that we frequently forget about some other things that can potentially cause serious problems. We’re referring to the debts.
It seems like they have a way of piling up much faster than any of us has planned. And dealing with debts is far from something pleasant, especially if you have lots of high-interest credit card debt.
It may feel like you’ll never pay off anything, but don’t worry. There’s a solution to almost every problem and the same goes for debts. If you want to know how you can quickly get rid of them, then stay tuned to get the answer!
Dealing With Debt Collectors
If your debt has reached a point where you cannot pay it off any longer, then debt collectors may start calling you. This is usually done as a result of missed payments. The good news is that you have certain rights that are protected by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). But since this law can get quite complex in some cases, you might want to employ the help of a professional debt collection attorney who can represent your best interests. The lawyer will be able to negotiate with the debt collector so they come up with an amicable agreement between both parties.
Efficient Ways To Pay Off Your Debts
Track Your Spending
There are people who are not completely aware of the amount of money they are spending, meaning where their cash is going. But that’s something that’s extremely important if you want to make some budget-related changes.
Without knowing this, you’re not going to have a full picture of how you spend your money. For starters, it would be recommendable to keep an eye on all your monthly bills, as well as your daily spending.
Besides this, make sure to include debt payment duties as well. Fortunately, there’s a variety of different ways you can monitor your money and these are probably the most common ways:
- Utilize a budget worksheet
- Write down some important notes in a notebook
- Employ a free money management application
- Use banking application tracker
- Do not throw away your receipts
Whatever you choose, just make sure to opt for only one, not more of them, so you can get a clear picture of how much cash you’ve spent.
Have You Heard Of Debt Consolidation?
What does this term mean? It includes combining a few debts, such as credit cards, loans, store cards into one credit card account, or one loan. With the help of debt consolidation, many people are achieving financial freedom because it makes this whole repayment-related process much easier. Now, in some instances, debt consolidation may not be of huge help.
On the other hand, there are some situations where you can greatly benefit from it and they include:
- Simplify repayments – Those who owned more than one credit card, or had several personal loans know how complex and challenging it can be to track all these repayment schedules. Every single new debt that arrives makes this whole process much more tiring and demanding. Now, building all your debts into a single place allows you to decrease all of your current repayment schedules into a regular repayment.
- Decrease the cost to maintain your debts – There are some situations in which you could give less money for the fees, plus pay a lower interest rate on your debt by consolidating more than one loan and credit card into a brand-new unsecured personal loan.
- Determine the date end your debt – One of the most practical benefits of debt consolidation is its fixed-term, meaning the end date is put into the loan, which means that you have certain goals to accomplish. When you have all your old fees and repayments simplified into one loan that has a fixed end date, then it’s going to be much easier to understand exactly how much money you owe and how long it will take for you to pay everything back.
Adding More Helpful Advice Below
Pay More Than The Minimum Payment
Now is an ideal moment to go through your budget to see how much money you can set aside and put towards your debt. If you pay more than the minimum, you will be able to save some cash on interest and get out of this whole situation much faster.
For instance, if you have a $15,000 balance on your credit card with seventeen percent APR and a $450 minimum payment. So if you make the minimum payment, it will take you around four years to repay your balance and you will pay approximately $5,500 in total interest.
On the other hand, if you pay $550 every month, or one hundred dollars more than your minimum, you’ll be able to repay everything in less than 3 years and pay around $4,100 in total interest. Definitely sounds like a much better option.
Have Other Sources Of Income
This is a great option if you have some free time on your hands, plus some skills that are currently desired. Of course, if you’re expecting a promotion, or raise at your job, then that’s even better, however, if that’s not the case, then it’s time to roll up your sleeves and try out something new.
Besides that, you should also consider altering your tax withholding at your company. Namely, if you get a tax refund every single year, it is highly likely that you have a lot of money withheld, which represents the cash that could be paying down all your debts.
So what are you supposed to do? Contact your employer to get a brand-new W-4 form that you can fill to decrease the withholding and at the same time, boost your take-home pay.
Renegotiate Your Credit Card Debt
Now, this is something that a majority of other customers do not know that they can renegotiate their credit card agreements to pay a lump sum amount instead of giving money on very costly monthly payments.
This whole process is also known as debt settlement, and the main question is, how can you negotiate it? First things first, is to the task. For starters, just contact your lender or creditor and demand a lower interest rate on your credit cards.
If your payment history is relatively good, then it is highly likely you can expect a good outcome. Additionally, if your creditor doesn’t want to work with you on a new interest rate, then you can ask them to renounce some of the fees.
No one has ever said that getting out of debt is easy, however, there are so many relatively easy ways that can help you overcome this financial obstacle. It’s up to you to decide which one is most suitable for you.
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