subject: Learn How to Help Yourself to Debt Help [print this page] Learn How to Help Yourself to Debt Help Learn How to Help Yourself to Debt Help
You may feel like you are at the end of your rope, but rest assured, you can recover. If you take control of the situation you can get debt help all on your own. Before you consider bankruptcy, or use an outside debt consolidation company, try taking matters into your own hands. Create a plan of attack and reduce your debt. Follow these simple steps and you can provide your own debt help.
Face the Pile
Avoidance will not help you anymore; neither will continuously paying the minimum payment, if you are even doing that. Take control of the situation. Gather the paperwork from every debt you have. Create a simple resource for all of these bills. The important items that you want to catalog are: balance due, interest rate, minimum payments, any fee, and contact information. This way you have a resource to consult at bill time that's easy and convenient.
After you've done that contact your payees. Let them know you are looking for debt help in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy. If you use the word bankruptcy they may be more likely to help you. If you file bankruptcy they aren't likely to get any of their money. If they know you are struggling, but trying to avoid bankruptcy, they may be able to offer assistance. Some ways they can give you debt relief are: lowing your interest rate, waiving any fees that have been on your account or even forgiving part of the balance.
Consolidate
If making a few phone calls still leaves you without the solution you were looking for, don't worry. There are ways to consolidate what you owe to one smaller and more manageable payment. There are several ways to consolidate what you owe to give you some financial relief.
Consider taking out a home equity loan to consolidate your debt. Home equity loans typically have very low interest rates and the interest you do pay can be considered a tax deduction in some cases. Use the loan to pay off everything you owe and then focus on repaying one loan.
What if you don't own a home or if you don't have any equity in your house? Don't worry. There are still debt consolidation loans that can help you manage your debt. The interest rate may not be as low as that on a home equity loan, but you now have one payment to make each month. That takes away some of the stress.
If both of these options are still beyond your means, consider a debt counselor. They have access to more resources designed to help you get your situation under control.
Budget
Now that you have a plan of attack for handling your debt the goal is to get out from under the gun and stay out. The best way to do that is to create a realistic budget and stick to it. Take how much you make and divide it so you can pay your bills and manage day to day expenses. Be sure to remember to pay yourself in other words, put some aside. You want to create some savings so the next time you have an emergency you don't have to turn towards your creditors for help. Also, you will feel more accomplished as you see your debt go down and your savings go up.
Living with a budget can be a hard adjustment at first, but with time and persistence you will see that the results are very beneficial. You can give yourself the debt help you are looking for. While the task is not easy, and it does require discipline, it can be done. Best of luck!
