Getting Out Of Debt:is There A Secret

By Author: Ted Batron
Total Articles: 14
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Do you want to know the secret to getting out of debt? Increase your income, decrease your expenses or do a little of each. Where people fall down is putting the strategy into practice and sticking with it until they reach their debt free goal.

You're probably thinking, great, tell me something I didn't already know. The problem with these simple strategies is that people don't have the discipline to stick with the strategy for the long term.

If you are in debt, it probably didn't happen over night. It could be up to or more than two years that they spent money impulsively and didn't care to budget. Then, after years of increasing debt, you realized the situation. Thats the way it happend for me.

And this is a legitimate analogy for your debt problems. There is light at the end of the tunnel, by not backing down the momentum grows. And momentum will step-up until the debt pile tumbles. Get to the point where you are not only paying the monthly interest on your debt but part of the principal that you owe. Paying more gets the debt down faster - something many people overlook.

How can you increase ...
... your income That's a good question that millions of people ruminate over everyday. You may already be working at your limit, so this may not be possible. Only you know what your time will allow. That would be counter productive.

Is there something you enjoy doing that can make a little extra income without placing additional stress on you? However, working a regular 9 to 5 job and then working on an oil rig is probably not a good idea for a second job (unless drilling for oil is a hobby).

What about things you can sell in the house. Putting items on ebay or throwing a garage sale is a simple way to produce a bit of hard cash fast. You probably won't get richbut if you are getting rid of stuff you don't need then it's better than nothing.
Now that I have stated this, the truth is, making more money is probably far more difficult than getting
Most people who are in situations where their debt is increasing or already in difficult debt problems don't have a budget. without a planned budget there is simply no way of knowing what they spend or or what the money is spent on. A budget is necessary for getting out of debt.
Establishing how much you can spend each month is pretty easy. It's your monthly paycheck plus any other income raising pursuits that you are working on. Don't forget to allow for tax if your employer is not already. You may get another unintended debt at years end.

Now establish how much you spend. Be severe about it. No expense is too small to matter. The target is to show important and non important items. important items are needed to survive, so your shelter and food are important. Having stated this, you need to determine whether you are living withing your income. Maybe you could get cheaper accommodation? Is your grocery budget too high? You could be wasting food. You might be able to cut your food budget.

Non important usually include spontaneous shopping and entertainment. How many outfits do you need every month? How many times do you really need to eat out. All these things can be studied. These are just a few ideas for saving money, and getting out of debt.