We live in the age of having the ability to make things happen with just the push of a button. Even sometimes just the sound of our voice. This also means there has never been a time that’s so easy for us to forget where what we get comes with a price. When you have a want it is so easy to press a few buttons without thinking. The ease of access can cause you to get in debt very quickly.
Many of us tend to either complete college or high school with some amount of debt accumulated. Most of this, due to age or lack of established credit at the time, will do so by way of high interest rate, high risk credit cards and/ or unsecure personal loans. Thus begins the unwavering task of how to pay for things that at the time we just could not live without. That ease of access or funds for things that were necessities has now stacked up. Now the question is, how will you pay for it?
Obvious solutions may be to take on a part time job or even to sell off some of the personal items that have accumulated. This too can be as simple as the click of a button via ebay or varagesale. This really doesn’t require more than a camera for a pic and an email address for response. You may be surprised how often one persons unused or unwanted items may be exactly what another is looking for.
So now that you have created the dark hole of debt and you have the solution to help eliminate it how can you make the smallest amount of money do the most difference.
Take the time to organize the debt. There are many websites and various self help programs to show you what logic tells you to be doing already. Pay off as much as possible, especially if they are high interest rate cards and loans. Once you have paid off an account, do not close it, but don’t use it until you are debt free. Save it for emergencies. Prioritize what you have left into what will be the most beneficial to get rid of and what’s costing you the most, then start chipping away at those. Try to stay caught up or even a little ahead of the race will pay off in the long run.
Once you have the heaviest of the load eliminated you not be as impulsive as you were. Being responsible with your money is important. If the credit card is gone then it’s not as easy to be put back in that position again. Being young and not smart with your money is an easy mistake to correct, but its the wise person who realizes what got them there and is in control enough not to do it again.
Hopefully this helps put steps in place for a truly debt free future. To only be responsible for what you need in life verses what you think you want takes a maturity. If you’ve experienced a mountain of debt, you will quickly learn from your mistakes. Planning and preparing are always your friend. Thinking before acting will take the stress off of your finances and set you up for a brighter future.