Posts Tagged ‘New Year’s’

Wrap-up: 9 Steps for Successful New Year Debt Resolution

Friday, January 9th, 2009

This is the last post in our series of 9 steps for setting a New Year Resolution to pay off debt.

Again this year, Reducing Debt is the top New Year’s goal, with up to 56% of Americans estimated to set a goal to get out of debt in 2009.  Wow.  That speaks loads about the economy and our mindset.  So remember that you’re not alone this year if you’ve committed to working down debt.

In our series of posts on setting a New Year Resolution to reduce debt, we’ve covered basic steps you can take to get out of debt.  We’ve discussed how you can set goals, come up with a plan, and enlist the support of others in paying off debt.

Ultimately, successful debt reduction depends on a lot more than just coming up with payment schedule.  You have to put all the pieces in place to have success.  Without support of your friends, for instance, you will have a hard time changing your habits.  Without getting everyone in your family aligned behind the goal, moving the needle will feel like herding cats.  And without a good tracking system, you’ll never get the feedback to know if you’re succeeding.

Surrounding yourself with good things, brings good results almost by definition.  Here are our top 9 steps for building out a successful New Year’s Resolution to pay off debt:

  1. Stop using your cards
  2. Get organized
  3. Set family priorities
  4. Get SMART.  Set SMART goals for debt reduction
  5. Make a plan
  6. Simplify for success
  7. Tell your goal to others
  8. Ask for support
  9. Track your progress

In closing, remember that 65% of people who profess to have a goal to reduce debt never put a plan into place.  Just by creating a plan to deal with your debt and starting to track your success, you’ll be significantly more likely to achieve lasting results on your goal.  We are proud to have created DebtGoal.com which incorporates all of these elements.

Hope you have a great 2009 and have success in your goal to reduce debt.

Scott Crawford is CEO of 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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Making Debt Reduction Your Goal for 2009

Monday, December 29th, 2008

New Year’s resolutions run the gamut from the outlandish (sky dive, climb a mountain) to the traditional (lose weight, help others more). An atypical resolution that will make a difference this year is more than a one-line “pledge to get out of debt” – it is a straightforward plan to do so.

 

Promising to end debt a boring and cliché resolution? Be stylish and realistic in your pledge and design a good plan. Here’s an idea:

 

“My 2009 resolution is to improve my personal finances and the first step is to aggressively eliminate my outstanding debt. Once I am completely free of debt, I’m going to save up for and pre-pay a tropical vacation to celebrate. Staying out of the red is going to be a cornerstone of my lifestyle moving forward. I pledge to the following plan:

 

a)      Write all of my debt down on paper, with the name of the lender, outstanding amount to be paid off, and terms of repayment.

b)      Prioritize the debts from most to least pressing to pay off. (Number them)

c)      List my monthly expenses and income. Set up a budget that trims unnecessary expenditures and comes up with a consistent amount that I can contribute towards monthly debt reduction.

d)      Start this action plan with the month of January 2009, with a modest reward for myself if I follow through with the game plan for each of the first six months of the New Year.”

 

Research shows that half the battle is proving that you can set up a plan and follow it.

 

If your debt is enormous, this is not a reason to avoid the most important resolution you can make. Simply adjust the resolution to represent a pledge to eliminate a large percentage of it (e.g., 50%) within the next year.

The best part of using a New Year’s resolution as a promise to eliminate debt is that you can let your promise be known to friends and family in a way that feels less difficult because everyone makes a resolution. It feels good because it comes off more as a declaration than a confesssion.

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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