Beating debt is as much to do with what's going on in your head as it is to do with what's going on in your wallet. If you have a debt problem you
can solve it if you admit this. Here are five steps you can take to begin beating your debt:
1. Take control
There comes a point where you have to admit that your debt is defeating you. You can't keep up with repayments; the interest charges are
mounting up and, maybe even worse, you're using one loan to pay off another.
You have to take control of your finances: if you don't your creditors will. If you are in denial about this you need to face the truth. If you can face
the truth and take control, you're on the first step to beating debt.
2. Live within your means
Take a look at your credit card and charge-card statements. What did you spend that money on?
Go round your house and take a good hard look at the goods that you bought with those credit cards. Are they worth it? Did you want them that
much? What difference have they truly made to your life?
What do you feel like when you look that stuff and say to yourself, 'I haven't paid for that (xxx) yet'?
3. Reduce your stress
Debt can become a nightmare and stress can send you into a spiral of despair. It doesn't have to be like that. There's a way out but it's not an easy
way out. You have to take control of yourself and your spending, and resolve to get your life back. When (and only when) you've got that mental
resolve, then consider consolidating your debt.
4. Eliminate your debt
Consolidating your debt is a one-chance option of repaying your debt. The debt doesn't disappear, but all the various loans and debts get lumped
together into one bigger loan to be paid off over a longer period and at a lower interest rate. This frees up some of your income and will instantly
reduce your stress.
And, crucially, you shouldn't continue to rack up credit card debts. You will only eliminate your debt if you live within your means.
Try an experiment. Leave your credit cards at home for a week and live on cash. Pay for everything with money - yes, everything. This will help you
get a handle on your need to budget. When you see the money slipping through your fingers it will bring home the reality that your supply of money
is limited.
At the end of the week, ask yourself how you feel. If it was difficult but you succeeded in prioritizing your spending, congratulations - you're in
control! If it was hard, or impossible, then try again. You need to be tough with yourself to be in control of your money.
5. Getting your life back
Happiness is not being able to buy useless luxuries: it's about being free. Cut up all but one of your credit cards, and pay back that credit card every
month, without fail. You'll enjoy the things that money can buy only if you spend money that you have - not money that you borrow. Resist the
temptation to indulge yourself with money that you don't own.
Money has the power to enslave you as well as making you free. When your debt is out of control, you're enslaved. You can become free only if you
take control.
Gillian Gunner is a writer who has first-hand experience of debt. She has contributed to a resource for people living with debt:
< a href="http://www.fundconsolidation.com"> Debt Consolidation - Independent Advice on Refinancing Debt, Getting Loans, Getting Help
