Avoid Loans at All Cost. 5 steps towards recovery
I wish I took that statement to heart sooner in life. Yes, it is true that in order to afford some of the basic necessities such as your car, home or education or emergency expense. At one time or another you will be faced with a big trade off. Here are the 5 steps to consider.
#1Should I, or should I not…take a loan.
That is your call, I would admit that your best option is to avoid working on credit whenever and wherever possible. It is not in your interest to borrow beyond your means. Or for that matter become highly dependent on loans to where you are going to be paying monthly fees that are equal to your interest payment.
#2 Work down the principle and pay less interest.
This should be the first thing on your mind each month if you truly are going to make a dent in paying off what you owe. Now, don’t start with your house, because it’s too big to consider….I would start with a smaller amount, perhaps a credit card that you could conceivably payoff and see some real progress being made.
#3 Concentrate on a single high interest loan or credit card debt and tackle it.
Yes, if you target a specific goal. You stand the best chance to reach it. Obviously this stuff is not for the weak of heart. But here is a good tip. If things get rough, try and reduce an expense such as bringing your lunch to work or even eating out less. This is an achievable way to actually reducing your expenses and using the extra money to increasing your payments to that credit debt reduction.
#4 Debt Reduction, a seemingly insurmountable task.
It’s not, if you set your mind to it you will do it. Depending on your family situation, you should consider bringing all the members into the plan. Don’t go crazy with all those budgetary goals…you will slowly lose interest in your plan.
#5 Slowly work towards changing your high spending behaviors.
This may result in actually working less on your off time. Find low cost activities to not place you in the situations of where money would have to be spent. This could mean a good picnic or finding a fun hobby that you haven’t done in a while rather than going to the movies or shopping mall.
Don’t overachieve on your objectives if at all possible. But certainly minimize your budget that will slowly lower overall expenses. If possible find a way to earn an extra dollar and increase you monthly income., like cleaning out some items in your garage and selling it on craigs list or ebay. Apply the difference to your credit cards and start chipping away at unwanted debt.
Bio: Michael Shawn is a writer for a variety of subjects including this article on loans and debt. You can find more useful tips on his affiliated website of
www.easyloan2u.com
