Get Out Of Debt

You need to get real with yourself to get out of debt. Yes it would be wonderful if you could just wake up one morning to find all your bills paid, your credit rating refreshed, and that nasty, lingering smell of debt erased. But that is not going to happen.

But too many people live on the edge, and when any little extra expense comes along they are forced to let big bills pile up, or make the minimum payment on big credit card bills, creating a debt mountain that can turn into a personal debt landslide.

The fact is that almost 70% of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. They have no savings for their kids’ college, their retirement, medical bills, or whatever that proverbial rainy day will bring. That scenario is outright frightening, as many people do not have a clue how they would survive if they lost their job or an unforeseen big expenditure came along. For these people these solutions to get out of debt may be  all they need:

• Making a budget.
• Cutting back on spending.
• Making more money.
• An overall plan to get out of debt.
• Good old fashioned discipline to do all the above.

But what if you are the victim of what I call The Double Whammy? That is when you have lost your job or have had to take one with drastically reduced hours or pay, combined with an unexpected expenditure. That’s a combination that will lead to you treading in dangerous financial water.

Letting the bills mount up and hoping for things to turn around is not the answer. Because unpaid debt will wear you down. The constant aggravating stress of living with the burden of these kind of unpaid bills can wreck the strongest of individuals and ruin marriages.

But here is a secret: no matter how bad the circumstances, almost any one can get out of debt. No matter how large it may be, your debt can be eliminated if you tackle the process with some intelligence, some ingenuity, and most of all, some help. But it may take drastic measures.

For instance you might need to consider debt consolidation. This is a way of paying out a lot of small loans or credit card debts with one large loan. It can work out cheaper per month, especially if your debts are mainly on high interest store accounts or credit cards. It can also be very good for people who have problems managing money and keeping track of all their debts.

You might be able to renegotiate your loans. Most loans (including credit card debts) can be renegotiated to give you longer to pay. This will mean smaller monthly payments, and you might be able to negotiate a one time payment holiday if you simply cannot make your payment this month.

Finally there is bankruptcy. Consider this a last resort. Briefly, you have a court declare that you cannot pay your debts and will not be able to do so in the foreseeable future.

In a bankruptcy, your creditors will have to accept whatever they are awarded. Bankruptcy can be voluntary or forced.  There are several plans, and some of your assets may be able to be left outside the proceeding. You will need an attorney for this.

Whatever you decide to do, you will need to tackle your debt problem head-on and use one, some, or all of the methods here to get out of debt once and for all.

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