The Answers To Debt

We are all in debt at some point in our lives - even if we don’t fully realise it. If we are paying off a mortgage, we are in debt. If we buy a car on finance, we are in debt. There are certain things that you may have done, like take out store cards and credit cards that you haven’t paid off - and don’t fully need to yet - but this still means that you are owing your money to somebody else. So how do we fully recover from it and ensure that we are fully debt free? Often, we don’t have the money available for us to escape it completely.until we are well into retirement age, but there are certain things that we can do now to lower the debt that we already have.

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Credit Cards

If you have taken out a credit card recently, have you looked at the terms and conditions that come with it? It may be that you haven’t got quite the deal that you think you have. If you apply for a card that comes with X amounts of months interest free, these can change depending upon your circumstances, so it’s always worth checking through the fine print just to see what your credit limit is and how long you’ve got the deal for. Credit cards can actually be quite useful when trying to rid yourself of finance deals that you can’t quite keep up with. It may seem counterproductive but if you are paying off finance with a large amount of interest, it makes sense to transfer to the balance to a card that has got a set amount of months with either a lower amount or zero interest added on. Usually, if you are paying off a debt in full, the company that you owe will take off the interest that has been added until the end of your term, so you will end up paying back a lower amount if you get it done sooner.

Debt Consolidation

There are charities and companies that you can go to for advice on your debt, and just because you have taken out a loan before and received a bad credit score in return for not paying it off in time doesn’t mean that poor credit loans for debt consolidation aren’t available. Once you are in the habit of borrowing money it can be hard to snap out of the circle unless you remove yourself entirely, but don’t beat yourself up about having to borrow more to pay off what you already owe. The consequences for not paying can be too much to handle in some situations, meaning a loss of home and family life.

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Friends and Family

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your loved ones can be a better source than official channels for small debts or loans as they won’t charge you interest rates that might get you into trouble further down the line. It might be a little embarrassing at first, but the worst that can happen is that someone says no. We’ve all been up and down financially and your friends and family will understand that you’ll happily repay the favour later or if the situation was reversed. Even if you don’t know anyone who can help out financially, your friends and family can be a useful source of emotional support - a problem shared is a problem halved, as the old saying goes.

Odd Jobs

Even if you’re working full time, there are often those little sources of income that can help tide things over. Freelancing jobs are flexible as you can work them in your own time and you can advertise your services on social media or on advertisement boards in post offices or local cafes. Try and work out what your skills are and where you could use them to earn a few more extra pennies. This could be the little boost you need to banish your debt. Think outside the box and focus on the skills that you know will bring you in some much-needed cash or, if you’re unsure, ask a friend or family member to tell you what they’d pay you to do. You might be surprised; there could even be invitations for you to start work on something straight away if you pitch it right. For example, if you play the piano, somebody might be interested in hiring you to teach their child - and if you’re good, the recommendations will just keep coming, bringing the money along with it.