Debt Elimination Tips.

Six Steps to Becoming and Remaining Debt-Free:

1) Accept Responsibility

Before You Can Make Any Major Changes in Your Life, You Must Stop Blaming Others for the Situation You Are Currently in.

2) Decide to Make a Change

As with Any Other Addiction, You Must Make a Decision to Change. Ex-Smokers Will Readily Tell You That They Have To Make a Conscious Decision before They Could Stop Smoking. They Were Simply Powerless against the Temptations of Nicotine, until They Made a Conscious Decision To Quit.

You May Need to Assess Your Current Situation before You Can Finally See That You Need to Make Any Change. You Might Have to Go So Far As to Develop a Repayment Plan before You Realize Just How Deep in Debt That You Really Are and How Much it Will Eventually Cost You to Become Financially Stable.

3) Assess Your Current Situation

Most People Don't Know What Their Current Debt Situation Is. They Continue Month after Month to Make Purchases without Having Any Idea What's Happening with Their Money. Until You Know Exactly What Comprises Your Debt, You Will Never Be Able to Reduce It to Zero.

Get a Piece of Paper and List All of Your Debts, Including Credit Cards, Car Loans, Home Loans, Etc. Write down the Creditors Names, Annual Percentage Rates, Outstanding Balances Due, and Minimum Monthly Payment Due. Your Loan Agreements and Credit Card Statements Should Provide You with Most of the Information You Will Need. Probably the Only Thing You Will Not Find for Credit Cards Is the Absolute Lowest Minimum Payment That They Will Receive. You Can Contact the Credit Card Issuer for Further Information, or Just Accept the Default of $15 Dollars, Which Is a Common Amount. This List of Creditors and Debts Will Be Used When You Set up Your Payment Schedule to Become Debt-Free.

You May Have To Look over Each Credit Card Statement Fairly Closely in Order to Locate the Information, Because There Is No Consistency between Credit Card Companies. However, by Law, They Are Required to Display Certain Information regarding Your Account. For More Information, Please Consult the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Upon Your Request, I Can Provide This Information for Your Review.

Additionally, You Should Request a Copy of Your Credit Report. Once You Have Your Report, You Should Review It Carefully for Any Errors or Changes That Need to Be Corrected.

4) Make Some Immediate Changes with these simple strategies

A) Reduce the Use of Your Credit Cards. Generally Speaking, You Should Reduce Your Purchases You Make on Credit. By Using Your Checks or Cash, You Will Be More Aware of How Much Money You have Actually Spent. It Will Be Harder to Buy a Large Purchase When You Realize That You Will Reduce Your Bank Balance by That Amount.

B) Switch to Lower Interest Credit Cards. Shop Around Because There Are Lower Interest Credit Cards Available, If You Are Willing to Search For Them.

C) Debit Cards Are Very Similar to a Visa or MasterCard except for They Do Not Accrue Interest. You'll Use Them Just like Any Other MasterCard or Visa Except the Purchases Are Directly Removed from Your Bank Account Instead of Being Added to a Revolving Account. Simply Stated; If Your Bank Balance Is Not Large Enough to Cover the Purchase, It Will Be Denied.

D) Reduce the Use of Your Cards. Do Whatever It Takes to Limit the Use of Your Cards, Destroy Them, If Necessary. I Know That It's Very Difficult, but It Is Sometimes the Only Answer for Some People. If You Absolutely Cannot Force Yourself to Do That, Remove Most or All of Them from Your Wallet or Purse and Lock Them up in a Safety Deposit Box. You Could Even Put Them in a Plastic Bag Filled with Water and Put Them in the Freezer. You Must Make It As Hard As Possible to Use Them!

E) Secured Credit Cards. A Secured Visa or MasterCard Is Very Similar to a Debit Card. Except That, You Must Have Enough Money in the Bank to Make the Purchase. Credit Limits Are Usually Set from 50% to 100% of Your Deposit. Deposit Requirements Are Usually from $500-$5000 Depending on How Much Credit You Want. Like a Debit Card They Can Be Used at Any Establishment That Accepts Visa or MasterCard.

5) Develop a Repayment Plan

Once You Have a List of All Your Creditors and All the Information That Applies to Them, It Is Now Time to Develop a Plan That Will Strategically Repay Them in the Shortest Amount of Time.

6) Stick to the Plan

Even If You Develop the Perfect Repayment Plan, It Will Do You No Good If You Choose not to Follow It Religiously. If You Start Paying Only the Minimum Monthly Payment, or Start Making Large Purchases Again on Your Cards, You Will Slip Right Back into the Debt Pit That the Creditors Have Allowed You to Dig for Yourself.

Once Again, You Will Have To Make a Decision to Stick to the Plan, Nobody Is Going to Hold Your Hand or Force You to Make Those Payments Correctly.

The Good News Is That You Will Not Be Alone, Because We Will Help You Develop a Strategic Plan That Will Meet Your Individual Needs and Goals. You May Be Confused Now, about Knowing Which Way to Go Financially, but We Will Help You Find Your Way. We offer Ongoing Support for All of Our Clients. We Want You to Successfully Achieve Financial Stability.