The First Steps to Getting Out of Debt
Posted on June 27, 2016 by Tim Mann, One of Thousands of Money and Finance Coaches on Noomii.
Discover the key to getting out of debt. If you are ready to take control of your money then read this article to help you take the first step.
In order to start the process of getting out of debt, the best advice I can give you is to put the brakes on using debt to pay for your lifestyle. Other than having a home mortgage, all other forms of debt should be stopped.
See, if you continue to use credit cards, get a car loan for you cars, fund college with student loans and use the other thousands of loan products out there, you are not getting a handle on curbing your appetite for debt. Debt has become such an addiction that we even borrow money against our 401K retirement account. What a bad financial decision that is!
If you are ready to pay down debt, then the first step is to stop using it. This is a simple idea but seems to be hard for people in our society since we have been so conditioned to use every form of it from credit cards to home equity loans. They have even come out with Apple pay; it is everywhere.
How do you make the shift? Start the process by developing the habit of paying for things with the money you have, not money you borrow. Continue to pay monthly expenses like your mortgage or rent, car payment, insurance, utilities and cable bills by check or through online ACH bank transactions. For all other expenses and purchases, use cash or a debit card.
It is that simple: You use cash and a debit card to pay for your lifestyle. After you get comfortable with using cash and a debit card, and you have stopped making future purchases with debt, you can then develop a plan of action to pay down your existing debt: your credit cards, car loans, student loan, etc.
You can do this! You are one step closer to FINANCIAL CALM.
