Getting Out of Debt Stories

Getting out of debt is a struggle for some people. Here are some good stories around the net that can inspire you. Enjoy!

• Building A Lean-To On The Side Of The Shed – Last year, before we moved into our new house, I bought a shed. I really like the shed. It’s nice and big and has plenty of space for all of my tools. I just have one problem -. I also have a lawn mower. …
• Reliability – Is It Just A Feeling? – I have a Saturn. A 2001 Saturn L300 that we bought used in 2004, to be exact. The Saturn is completely paid off. And there ends my list of nice things I have to say about it. Those who have been long-time readers of the blog know that …
• My Get Out Of Debt Success Story – $70000 In Four Years :The Happy … – My Get Out Of Debt Success Story – $70000 In Four Years. Posted by The Happy Rock on May 15, 2007.  The title of the site mentions gaining freedom through personal finance, so it is about time that I share some of our …
• What does getting out of debt “buy” you? :The Happy Rock – What does getting out of debt “buy” you? Posted by The Happy Rock on May 16, 2007. freedom.jpg So we battled for three years to get rid of our $70000 dollars in debt….so what! Here are the benefits that being debt free(besides the …
• comment on 15 ways to establish and improve your credit history … – […] diligence, you can protect your credit rating from adverse affects due to errors, but it is up to you to make sure that they are taken care of […]
• Pay Off Credit Card Debt – Despite unemployment, my husband and I managed to pay off our credit card debt completely.
• DIY Debt Consolidation Options – The quickest way to get out of debt is to never get into debt in the first place. The next quickest way to get out of debt is to throw as much money as possible at your loans until they are gone. Unfortunately, that may not be quick …
• 10 Ways to Pay Your Debt Off Faster – 10 tips to pay your debt down faster and use your money for better things – like growing wealth!
• 5 Key Strategies For Getting Out Of Debt The Happy Rock – Being debt free has been more amazing than I thought, and I want others to be able to share in a similar joy. For those who are trying to get out of debt or entertaining the thought, here is some ammunition. Find Your Passion Finding your passion is my number tip for anything that requires a large amount of energy and commitment.
• If You’re Going to Consolidate Debt Then You Have to Stop Using Credit – When it comes to paying off debt there’s one useful tool that can not only simplify your finances but also reduce the amount of interest you pay. Debt.
• Build an Emergency Fund, Pay Off Debt, or Save for Retirement … – Should You Save for Retirement or Build Up Savings? And What About Debt? What does building up an emergency fund, paying off debt, and saving for retirement.

Feel free to add your debt story here.

Debt-Free On Any Income

Financial security may be hard to imagine for a lot of people. To acquire this type of security means that you will have to make sacrifices to achieve debt free living. If you have gotten yourself into debt for medical reasons, lost jobs, over speculating or even the bitter sweet problem of self indulgence, then you will need to find a way to crawl out from the burden of debt.

Debt has two faces. One face is called good debt. Good debt is for purchases like housing or schooling that will increase in value over time. The other face of debt is ugly. It’s consumer debt on credit cards that have interest rates that are not tax deductible and can rise over time.

Many books have been written about getting out of debt, which most agree that they want to do. Some dream that they want to become debt free and some people actually do become debt free.

Lyle and Tracy Shamo have written a book called, “Debt-Free On Any Income.” It has an excel spreadsheet program that can help you list all of your debt and pay it down systematically. This is a good system to use and will help you get out of debt.

Let’s say you have four credit cards that have a variety of debt on them. Say for example the balances are $7,540, $238, $4,333, and $1,980. You are looking at a $14,091 debt. That should be enough to wake you up that you need a better payoff plan.

One way to tackle this debt is to make the minimum payments on each account. Then you are easily looking at a very long time before you’ll be debt free, but your credit score will stay intact. Say you decide that you are going to use $200 every month to pay towards your credit card debt. You would want to take the $238.00 debt and put money towards paying off that amount.

When you are done with that bill, you use the same $200 and put it towards the $1,980 debt until it is paid off. Theoretically you should now have more than $200 to put towards your monthly debt. Not having the minimum payment for these two bills could free up maybe $75 a month. So now you can put $275 a month toward your $4,333 bill. As you continue doing this, your monthly minimum payments will go down and the amount you can put towards your debt payoff will go up. By the time you are solely focusing on the largest debt, you’ll have more to pay that off every month.

The key to this plan though is to not incur more debt at the same time you are doing this. Basically you need to decide to quit spending money that is not in your bank account. When that becomes a lifelong habit, you won’t have to face these problems again and again.

The Bank of America/MBNA has issued credit cards and consumer debt they report is $194.70 billion. This includes the U.S., Spain, Canada, Ireland and the U.K. The average credit card debt per household is $16,007, according to CreditCard.com.

All of us can use a little help in controlling consumer debt and living a debt-free lifestyle. Practice using the payoff techniques and the spending rules and it won’t be long before you are on your way to becoming debt free.

Here are some related articles you may enjoy:

• My Get Out Of Debt Success Story – $70000 In Four Years :The Happy … – My Get Out Of Debt Success Story – $70000 In Four Years. Posted by The Happy Rock on May 15, 2007. The title of the site mentions gaining freedom through personal finance, so it is about time that I share some of our …

• What does getting out of debt “buy” you? :The Happy Rock – What does getting out of debt “buy” you? Posted by The Happy Rock on May 16, 2007. So we battled for three years to get rid of our $70000 dollars in debt….so what! Here are the benefits that being debt free(besides the …

• Pay Off Credit Card Debt – Despite unemployment, my husband and I managed to pay off our credit card debt completely.

• DIY Debt Consolidation Options – The quickest way to get out of debt is to never get into debt in the first place. The next quickest way to get out of debt is to throw as much money as possible at your loans until they are gone. Unfortunately, that may not be quick …

• 10 Ways to Pay Your Debt Off Faster – 10 tips to pay your debt down faster and use your money for better things – like growing wealth!

• 5 Key Strategies For Getting Out Of Debt The Happy Rock – Being debt free has been more amazing than I thought, and I want others to be able to share in a similar joy. For those who are trying to get out of debt or entertaining the thought, here is some ammunition. Find Your Passion Finding your passion is my number tip for anything that requires a large amount of energy and commitment.

• If You’re Going to Consolidate Debt Then You Have to Stop Using Credit – When it comes to paying off debt there’s one useful tool that can not only simplify your finances but also reduce the amount of interest you pay. Debt.

• Build an Emergency Fund, Pay Off Debt, or Save for Retirement … – Should You Save for Retirement or Build Up Savings? And What About Debt? What does building up an emergency fund, paying off debt, and saving for retirement.

More Help With Debt Problems

Debt got you down? You’re not alone. Consumer debt is at an all-time high and it’s not getting any better any time soon. Whether or not your debt problems are the result of an illness, unemployment, or simply from overspending, it can seem overwhelming and frustrating. By reading this article, you will learn some common pitfalls to avoid and consider before looking for consolidation debt help.

Credit Debt Help

But whatever you do, Don’t File Bankruptcy before reading the rest of this article and visiting our site…Here’s why:

In your effort to get solvent, first, be on the alert for advertisements that offer seemingly quick fixes for debt problems. While the ads pitch the promise of easy consolidation debt help, they rarely say the help may be spelled b-a-n-k-r-u-p-t-c-y.

And although bankruptcy is one option to deal with financial problems, it’s generally considered the option of last resort especially when there is real consolidation debt help available without bankruptcy.

One just needs to read between the lines and to partner with a reputable debt relief company. The main reason Bankruptcy should be the last option is: its long-term negative impact on your creditworthiness in the future.

Bankruptcy information (both the date of your filing and the later date of discharge) stays on your credit report for 10 years, and can hinder your ability to get credit, a job, insurance, or even a place to live.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cautions consumers to read between the lines when faced with ads in newspapers, magazines, or even telephone directories that say: “Consolidate your bills into one monthly payment without borrowing.” “STOP credit harassment, foreclosures, repossessions, tax levies, and garnishments.” “Keep Your Property.” “Wipe out your debts! Consolidate your bills!

online debt help

Now don’t get me wrong, there are consolidation debt help companies that do honest work. We are just saying that you need to do your homework and choose wisely when considering debt relief. In fact, at the end of this article we will direct you to more information and where to get the best service.

However, you will find out that some of these aforementioned and “over hyped” statements can be a red flag when searching for good consolidation debt help companies. And they may often involve filing for bankruptcy relief, which can hurt your credit and cost you attorneys’ fees.

If you’re having trouble paying your bills, consider these possibilities before considering filing for Bankruptcy: 3 Things you can do to Avoid Bankruptcy today:

•Talk with your creditors. They may be willing to work out a modified payment plan. If talking to your creditors seems overwhelming or you just would rather not do it, consider choosing consolidation debt help first. Our recommendations are below.

•Contact a credit counseling service or reputable debt settlement company. These organizations work with you and your creditors to develop debt repayment plans. Such plans require you to deposit money each month with the debt counseling service. The service then pays your creditors for. This is a very good option for you to consider because many of these debt relief companies are trained to negotiate with your creditors and probably have dealt with your creditors in the past.

•Carefully consider a second mortgage or home equity line of credit. While these loans may allow you to consolidate your debt, they also require your home as collateral.

As you can see, you do have options to consider when looking for consolidation debt help. However you do need to do something. Your debt will not go away on its own. The most common mistake of all, besides filing bankruptcy, is to do nothing and watch the problem get worse. There is help with debt problems and we’ll show you where to get it. For more information and our recommendations for the best consolidation debt help companies:

Help With Debt Problems

Falling into debt is like falling into quicksand

Debt is quickly becoming America’s ball and chain. The personal credit card debt held by consumers as of July 10, 2008 is $5,312,998,074,837.08. That is $5.3 trillion dollars of personal debt.

So you are not alone in your struggles to control your debt. The whole nation is right along with you.

Reasons to avoid debt

The weight it causes on your day-to-day functioning can be extremely burdensome.

Problems arise because sometimes it takes years to actually feel the pinch and pain you have gotten yourself into.

The credit card companies delight in your failure. They make things so easy for you to get into debt and they love it. One day, you make be sinking so fast, you can’t get out.

Track your spending

Hopefully you take managing money seriously and actually look and keep track of how much money is coming in and how much money is going out of your accounts. Being oblivious to this critical factor is what keeps people at debt’s beck and call.

If you were to relate this feeling to gaining weight, assuming that you didn’t have a medical problem that was causing weight gain, the day-to-day input builds up and soon you’ve discovered you’ve put on 20 pounds.

Stop getting further into debt

Have the courage to look at what is causing you to go into debt. Sometimes it takes a little cheering from others to encourage you to start making a strategic debt reducing plan.

Learn from the debt control experts

Dr. John DeMartini, teaches debt management principles that are so simple that anyone can remember and practice them. If I were to sum up his philosophy it would be: “If you emotionalize money, it goes. If you put strategies with it, it grows.”  That philosophy is so true.

Pay your debts on time

Automate your credit card payments using online bill paying with your local bank. Life so frequently just gets going and people forget to put payments in the mail. Don’t let being forgetful be the cause of late payments. Late payments can ruin your credit.

Order a free credit report

A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. 

The Federal Trade Commission offers you a free credit report, so take advantage of it and find out what problems you may be having with your credit.

Make a plan and move on

Perhaps the worst thing to do when you are in financial trouble is to give up.  It’s also the easiest and certainly it’s understandable.  However, when you give up, life just gets worse. It might seem like you have little or no control over your situation, but in reality, the opposite is true.  

William Ernest Henley, in the late 1800′s, said, “I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.” Your attitude determines your future. Make a plan to track your finances, pay your bills on time and take charge of your debt reduction plan today.

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