Breaking The Ball and Chain of Debt For Good

By Andrea Pokorny

Debt can creep up on you as easy as those extra pounds that seem to jump on you during the holidays. One second you're enjoying loads of frosted cookies and the next you're bewildered with the numbers on your bathroom scale.

Much like when you mindlessly charge your credit card time and again. Before you can wrap your head around the debt you've accumulated, you barely have enough money at the end of the month to cover your bills.

Along with debt comes fear, stress and anxiety. Why not kick the habit and live debt free?

For whatever reason, you've lost self control in many ways. Of course I'm not speaking to those wise frugal ladies or those that have always had a handle on their financial matters. Likely, they looked away the minute they read the title of this article.

I'm speaking to those living paycheck to paycheck and still filling their house with stuff. On no plan to quit the spending and start saving. The ones too afraid to actually add up all their debt because they'd rather take a little more time living in denial.

You're not alone you know. At this point it doesn't even matter how you got there. You just need a simple strategy to follow and climb out of the hole. Start breathing again.

Step 1: Build an emergency fund for those rainy days.

The car may need repairs. The computer hard drive might fry. Doctor bills may soar. Unexpected things will happen. You need to prepare. This does not mean have a credit card handy. This means sock away some money to keep yourself afloat.

Sell some stuff on ebay, have a garage sale, work extra hours. Whatever. Do what you need to. Start with saving $1000.00 for emergencies.

Step 2: Pay off your debt one by one.

In order to pay off debt, you should not be accumulating any more debt. Cut up all your credit cards, they're the enemy. No more borrowing money. Begin living within your means.

List all your debt out, smallest to largest. Dave Ramsey calls this the debt snowball plan. Pay off the smallest debt first to create the greatest momentum in your debt snowball.

Step 3: Create a gameplan that works for you.

Budget is actually another word for gameplan. A budget is a huge component to any healthy financial plan. Budgets are tricky though. It takes tweaking and time to get them right and just when things are going smoothly, they may need another tweak.

Having a budget should be a life-long habit. Take the time to put a budget together and you'll find your money stretching farther.

Facing your finances head on is the best strategy. Prepare for the unexpected, get rid of that nagging debt and put your dollars to work for you.

Having no debt is very attainable. Enjoy the new found freedom. What are some financial goals you have for your new debt-free self?

 

About the Author:
Andrea Pokorny writes about money and home management at MainstreamMom.com. She has been published in Reader's Digest and contributes to websites like Cozi.com. She is passionate about delivering tools and resources to help women everywhere with the toughest job on the planet as Mothers.

Visit her site and receive her free workbook titled “7 Simple Steps to Managing Your Money (That You Can Actually Do)”.