ClearUpMyDebtNow
Telltale Signs You Might Need Assistance with Your Debts
How can you tell if it might be time to look at a potential debt assistance program? Some people find it difficult to be honest about their situation. It can be a tough pill to swallow and taking an honest look at our situation can be difficult to deal with, especially where our loved ones are concerned.
If you or your spouse has been living in denial about your financial situation and thinking it’s really not that bad, you may want to look at the following signs in order to see whether or not you’ve really got a problem.
Does This Describe You?
If any of the following describes you, you might be ready for debt assistance:
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You make just the minimum payments on all your credit cards.
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You buy food and pay bills with your credit cards. (You might even pay credit card bills by taking cash advances on those cards!)
- You don’t have a savings or emergency account
- You wait until the last possible day to pay your bills
- You have been “kiting” cheques and hoping the mail is slow so that there’s time for funds to get in before the cheques are cashed.
- You’re afraid to answer the phone in case it’s a creditor.
- You’re living hand to mouth (pay to pay)
- You’ve paid more in interest than the original debt for your credit cards
- There’s more month than money most months
It’s not hopeless!
If some of these statements describes you, then you might consider the fact that your financial problems can probably not be solved without the help of a debt assistance professional.
Consider debt counseling to get you back on the right track and once again take control of your finances. Facing the brutal reality of your situation and admitting that you need debt assistance is the first step toward freedom from debt.
Examining Whether or Not A Debt Relief Solution is for You
It can be difficult to determine whether or not you’re one of the many who might benefit from a debt relief solution but today’s post can help you:
Just about everyone carries a certain amount of debt but there are signs that you could be someone who is having more than just a bit of difficulty. Whether you’re in a temporary financial bind or having severe difficulty will determine whether you should fight this on your own.
Examining the Bigger Picture
First, take a look at the total amount of outstanding bills you owe. Calculate totals for your credit card balances, any consumer credit such as for a car loan or gasoline company account, and any type of miscellaneous balances you may still be carrying like student loans.
Consider both your secured and unsecured debts. The mortgage for your home is a secured debt, as is the loan for your automobile. Unsecured bills are those like department store credit cards. In the case of a secured loan, the lending company has the right to take away your property. With unsecured debt, the lender will most likely pursue legal action to force you to pay past due amounts.
Add up these numbers and , the total payments you are required to shell out each month. Now look at whether or not it seems likely to assume you can pay these bills and still have enough left over for essentials like groceries, gas, and utilities. If not, you could consider getting outside help. A debt relief company might be a good option.
Taking Out Loans Can Be Dangerous to Your Financial Health
If your own solution has been to take out a debt consolidation loan, you could be facing even more serious trouble if you aren’t dealing with the right company and taking serious steps to change your financial habits. The further into debt you go, the more impossible it can seem to ever pay back the amount you owe.
When your credit is already suffering, you may be forced by the lender to pay very steep annual interest rates. This just adds to the already insurmountable amount of your bills. It can also result in the monthly payment being more than what you already owe.
Should you fail to be able to pay back a debt consolidation loan, your credit score will only get worse. This is a case of digging a hole that forever gets deeper and deeper.The sooner you can get a handle on your debts, the better!
3 Tips For Getting Out of Debt
Getting out of debt seems like a pipe dream to some. Whether you’re looking at a consolidation, looking at filing bankruptcy, or just looking at the overwhelming pile of bills with dismay, you have the power to change your financial future.
It’s NOT hopeless
For many, it seems hopeless. They’ve spent so many years borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and juggling bills like it’s a circus act that living without being under a cloud of debt doesn’t seem possible. It is possible if you make a plan and take it one step at a time. Here are 3 steps you can take, starting today:
Step 1 to Financial Freedom…
Make a budget. A budget is the key to your financial freedom. There are budgeting software packages available and you can even just make up a spreadsheet or use an old-fashioned envelope budget to allocate money to so that you can ensure all yoru bills get paid each month as well as having the ability to buy groceries. The key is to have a bit left over after everything is paid each month so that you can start paying more than the minimum payment.
Step 2 to Getting Debt Free…
Make more than the minimum payment. Just making the minimum payment on your credit cards is going to keep you in debt forever. Even if you’re only topping up by $20 a month for starters, you’re going to start to see your debt load drop rapidly. As bills get eliminated you can apply those old monthly payments to other leftover bills to get them out of the way rapidly as well. Before you know it, you’re going to have a lot of extra disposable income leftover!
Step 3 to Having More Of Your Own Money…
Pay Cash. Cash is king when you buy things. Not only are you able to have some negotiating power to get a discount on items but you’re going to own the item you’ve just bought outright. That means that no bills will arrive in the mail and no collection calls will come either. It’ll be yours —bought and paid for and you’ll only buy things you can afford.
Becoming debt free is very freeing indeed. While at first you’re going to be tightening the purse strings and living lean, before you know it you’ll have plenty of disposable income. The key is to be careful that you don’t treat money as disposable, so that you’ll have more of it in the bank (collecting interest instead of having to go to pay your interest charges!) for a rainy day!
Helpful Resource:
http://www.clearupmydebtnow.com