Steps To Take To Reduce Your Debt

By Author: Todd Moore
Total Articles: 26
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Do you feel that you are drowning in debt? If so, you can take a small measure of comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Financial stress can cause a lot of health problems and tear families apart, which only makes the situation worse. You do need to get a handle on your financial picture by making a list of your debts and subtract this amount from your income. As part of this process, you must also include your household expenses, such as groceries, insurance, hydro and other essential payments you must make.

When making the list of your debts, include the outstanding balance remaining on the accounts and the rate of interest charged on each one. If you have an amount of discretionary income each month that you can apply to some of the balances, you don't have to try to divide this up among all your accounts. Start off with the account that has the lowest balance and apply an extra amount of money to that account each month. It is surprising to see what an extra $50 or $100 will do to bring the balance down faster. Make the minimum payment on all the other accounts.

When you decide that you want to decrease ...
... your debt load, you do have to stop using the credit cards that you want to pay off in full. Once you have the lowest account paid off, then you can take the amount of payment you made on this account each month and apply it to the next account on your list. Now you will be making a much higher payment on this account and in no time you will see that you have this one repaid in full as well.

There may be times when you need money for other purposes and you may have to make only the minimum payment. However, you should not do this on a regular basis if you really want to reduce your debt load permanently. As you see that you are being successful in paying off your accounts, this will make you more aware of how much money you wasted in the past.

For those who have a negative balance when they take a look at their financial situation, which means that do not have enough income each month to meet the payments, there are other options for reducing your debt. You can take advantage of a debt consolidation loan that will combine your accounts in one giving you one monthly payment that is easier to manage. This payment will also be lower than the combination of payments and make your life easier, even though you will still owe the same amount of money. However, as you continue to make the payments, you will pay off the loan and become debt-free.
Todd Moore is widely recognized as an expert in all credit help related circles. Todd boasts over thirty years experience in secured loan car title related fields. Todd has appeared in many newspapers, and in article directorys and website across the internet. Visit us today.