Practical Advice on Getting out of Debt

Let’s face it, if you’ve been looking for ways to get out of debt, you’ve probably been reading a bunch of articles that may or may not be informative depending on your current situation. A lot of articles will tell you about tips and tricks, such as how to manage your debt via budgeting, how to get motivated and also how you can reduce your debts with “simple tricks”. But a lot of that information is a bit pointless because a lot of us already have an idea on how to deal with debt, we’ve just gotta into it due to some unfortunate circumstances.

For example, perhaps you had to repair a vehicle that takes you to and from work, or maybe your house suffered a fire or a natural disaster and you didn’t have home insurance to cover it. These situations can and will happen, and whether it’s a small amount of debt or a large sum of money you owe because of those situations, we have to find ways to deal with it. In short, being in debt doesn’t mean that you don’t know how to handle your money, it could just mean you were unlucky.

But whatever the reason for you falling into debt, here are a couple of practical ways to plug in that financial gap and regain control of your money.

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Start saving

Okay, this sounds obvious enough, but not many people think about it for some reason. If you want to pay off your debts, you’re going to have to get extra income in order to fill it in. The best way to do this without getting a second job and moonlighting is to simply save money. All you really need to do is cut out some of your luxuries for a couple of weeks or months and you should be able to pay off your debts. The best way to go about saving money is to set a target.

For instance, let’s say you need to save up £4000 to pay off your debt. First, calculate how much income you get and subtract your living costs. This includes things like bills, utilities and food. The leftover money would typically be disposable income. Next, set a percentage of this income that you will set aside for the purpose of paying off your debt. Let’s say you have roughly £1000 in disposable income every month. If you saved 40% of that, which is £400, you could pay back your debt in roughly 10 months which is a fairly short timeframe.

Get professional help

When it comes to managing debt and settling monthly repayments, you’d be wise to speak with a professional to get debt management advice. Unfortunately, this itself may cost money, but if you’re unsure how to go about paying your debts back, how much you should save each money, or if you simply prefer to cut out the hassle of calculating this on your own, then consider speaking to an expert about your situation.

Temporary relief

If you feel like your debt is rather low but you’d still prefer to clean it up as soon as possible, then consider using some temporary measures in order to pay it off. For instance, you could sell some unwanted items such as old electronics, video games or even old furniture that hasn’t seen much use. Not only do you get money to pay off your debts, but you also get to declutter the home a bit and make use of old items that aren’t very useful.

There are more extreme ways of getting some temporary relief from your debts. For instance, you could cut off access to luxury utilities such as your Netflix subscription or even your television cable service. Just keep in mind that these are extreme measures and getting back onto these services might be a hassle. You might also be bound by a contract, making this option impossible. Another great way (albeit slightly shameless) way of getting a bit of relief is to contact a friend or family member and ask for some assistance. In some cases, you might even be able to pawn off expensive jewellry or items with the intention of buying it back when you have the opportunity to.

Final words

If your debt is still fairly low and hasn’t grown to unmanageable amounts, then you could save yourself a lot of headache and stress by dealing with it as soon as possible. Selling items, living frugally for a while and perhaps cutting access to luxury services is a great way to gather up some extra money. However, if you’re in crippling debt that just keeps spiralling down, you may want to contact a professional and change some of your habits.

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