It’s not hard to do. One day you feel like you have all the money and financial security in the world. And then it happened, maybe not too quickly either. You may have had a family emergency, you may have been injured, you may even have got carried away over the years, and regardless it happened.
Debt can creep up on you and you may not be able to catch it until it’s too late. Many think to themselves, “How did this happen?” Well, the answer to that isn’t so easy to explain. The average household is somewhere around $9000 in accumulated debt. Sometimes, if anything, this debt can seem to be a huge emotional burden as well. Debt can break families apart; debt can make it seem hopeless for any sort of a future.
There is a practice that anyone can start doing to avoid debt and bankruptcy. Many people do not realize that debt can so easily be fixed and they can enjoy good credit again. That is probably because there is no “easy” way. For starters, even if you aren’t in debt, it is of utmost importance that you start to build a budget or financial plan. This plan should involve goals for erasing your previous debt. These goals should be time related and specific. You must always have a plan to accomplish any goals in life.
How does financial planning save you from debt? Well, for starters, it is a plan to keep you from going deeper into debt. Not only that, but you should also make a plan that you can “live” with that will slowly reduce your debt over time. You may think of things to include in this plan such as keeping only one credit card. This will keep you from paying annual fees and only pay the interest off of one single card instead of many. Another idea to add to this plan could be to pay your credit card bills each at maybe twenty-five dollars over the minimum payment and to always pay ten days early. These are practices that will not only help you get out of debt and avoid bankruptcy and worry, but they will also help build your credit score at the same time.
If you are to the point that you can’t even afford to do this, there are other financial options and institutions to help you with your debt problems such as debt consolidation and consumer credit counseling services. Debt consolidation is the process of combining or “consolidating” all your debt into one single monthly payment at a lower interest rate. You may want to also visit a debt negotiator who will work with the credit card companies to lower your actual owed balance. Debt consolidation and debt negotiation are two basic options to avoid bankruptcy.
Another option to avoid bankruptcy is Consumer Credit Counseling. Consumer credit counseling is usually a non-profit consultation service by creditors that can work to help you get out of debt in numerous ways. They will also be able to pull up your credit report and work to see just how you got into debt in the first place. If you have a spending problem or budgeting problem, they may be able to offer solutions to help you fight debt and rebuild your credit.
Either way, you decide to fight debt it is always important to take action none the less. Always start with a financial plan and that will give you an idea of what you need to do to stay debt-free.
