Posts Tagged ‘friends support with debt’

Get out of the debt: What to do when others aren’t supportive

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

Get out of the debt you carry by moving forward with this game plan.

Getting others on board help you start to reduce and eliminate debt can be difficult: friends may not know how to help someone trim spending, especially when your social life is all about doing things as group, be it fine dining, hitting up the bars, or shelling out for tickets to a game. But you can still get out of the debt you carry. Like friends, family may have their own stress and other problems to focus on right now. So what should you do in your want to get out of debt and stay out of debt? Step Zero: do not surrender to inaction.

Get out of the debt by understanding exactly how much income you have coming in each month.

For most, this is as simple as looking at a month’s worth of pay stubs. For others, there are additional income streams besides the paycheck. One of the initial steps to being able to get out of debt and stay out of debt is figuring out clearly the amount of income you have to work with to make ends meet.

Get out of the debt by setting up a quick monthly budget for housing, food, and transportation.

To be clear, this doesn’t include eating out, new furniture, household appliance improvements, or upgrades to your car. To get out of debt and stay out of debt, redefining what you consider “wants” and “needs” will help. The needs are grocery shopping, rent and/or mortgage payments, bare-bones home maintenance, and gas and basic maintenance for your car like oil changes. In short, set priorities, making a solemn distinction between the necessities and the discretionary buys to get out of the debt.
   

Get out of the debt by cutting up your credit cards.

 

Self-explanatory. When they do not sit in your wallet, you cannot be tempted to whip them out for a purchase and creep outside of your budget. Get out of the debt by taking the credit out of the spending equation. Moving forward, you can then focus squarely on clearing up the credit card debt balances.

Get out of the debt by substituting nights out on the town.

 

Everyone needs to relax and enjoy life every now and then. Do it in a way that doesn’t cost anything more than your time. Substitute nights out on the town with friends over to your place. Play host and have others bring the party supplies. Reducing the time you spend out reduces the temptation to blow your budget on restaurants, drinks, and tickets. Get out of the debt by thinking creatively and cost-effectively about what actually allows you to relax and recharge. To get out of debt and stay out of debt, revamp your social activities.
   

Reaffirm your support for family and friends. Get out of debt and stay out of debt.

 

If family and friends can’t do anything specific to help you get out of the debt, then let them focus right now on their needs. Explain to them that you understand that there are tough times right now and that you have a solid game plan to get out of the debt you carry: tell them all about the quick budget set up, cutting up the plastic, and the alternatives to going out.
   

Raj Patel writes for DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs.  DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.

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