Does anyone have any real solution for eliminating debt without using any of those ...?

Question

I do not want to file consolidate my debt. I want it gone!!! I know that I got myself into this.Some things just can't be helped. NO bankruptcy...consumer counseling or other rip off ideas. Thank you for your help and insight.

Answer 1

First, determine how much you can afford to pay towards your debt each month. Also, are there any "extras" you can cut out of your budget, even for a few months - i.e. a cheaper cell phone or cable package, eat out less, etc. Pay the minimum on all of your accounts except one. On that one account pay the minimum plus whatever extra your budget allows. Each month put all of your "extra" debt payment to that one account - this will allow you to pay down one account more quickly. When that account is closed, pick another account to receive the "extra" payment. I had a problem with debt shortly after graduating from college. My debt was a mixture of student loans and credit cards and I had many credit card accounts. I started paying down the account with the smallest balance. Being able to reduce the number of accounts helped me manage my debt, and it also helped my stress level to be able to completely close out an account.

You may also want to contact your creditors to find out if the have any "payment programs" that might help reduce interest rates or other fees.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

Answer 2

Pay one credit card off at a time and don't make the minimum payment. Pay as much as you can because the interest so much. We just had a financial class at our church and the three things we were taught 1. if something is under $300.00 , go home, pray about it for 3 days and see if you just can't live without it.2. If it is $300- 1000, give it a week before buying it, 3. If it over $1000, give it a month. If you can put off making purchases except for necessities and paying more on the bills you already had, you can get them paid off in about 5 years. That sounds like a long time, but when you look at the interest you are paying on credit cards and make the minimum payments, it is going t take you 20 yrs to pay them off. The average family owes about $8,000 on credit card. It is so hard to get out of debt, but you have to create a financial plan and have an order to it. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

MicroSoft Office has a MicrosoftMoney program that enables one to track checking, as well as, designing a pay-off plan to help in the process of eliminating debt. The program is based upon what is known as the 'snowball system'. The basic idea is to pay-off small debts first...allowing interest to accrue on the others until it is paid. One still pays the minimum on the others during this time. Then once the small debt is repaid, the money that was allocated towards it is applied to the next debt on the list in addition to whatever minimum was previously being paid. Once that is paid...on to the next one...allowing the money that is spent toward payments to grow as one debtor is paid and another one is slated for pay-off. The advantage to this system is once established, one may simply allocate a specific amount toward short-term or long term debt and the rest is to be spent on regular expenses such as food, utilities, etc... It does not allow much room for increased living standards until the repayments are complete; however, then the money that was formerly spent toward debt may be invested in stocks, bonds, or placed into a savings account. There is no sudden change in living standards..it is slow, progressive, and effective.

The snowball technique for eliminating debt is attributed to Dave Ramsey. He is a financial specialist that used the term back in 1994 or so. His website links are below:

Good luck in 2007!

Answer 4

AW is right. The steps are hard but simple, and a legit credit counselor can be a big help. The steps:

1. No more credit.

2. Make arrangements to pay everything off. This is where a legitimate credit counselor llike CCCS comes in. They charge a tiny bit, like $25.00/one time plus a dollar a month, but they will not try to sell you a loan, and the creditors will believe them when maybe they won't trust you.

3. Learn to live with less stuff so it doesn't happen again.

Good luck!

Answer 5

A lot of fantastic ideas here in the answers you got. Some are good and some are not. You need to research online debt management sites and learn what is on offer. Then you can formulate your own debt management plan. Any problems with that then just send an email.

Answer 6

You've made the first step-realising Your spending is a problem and want to do something about it before it gets too late.
Work out what You owe,figure out what You have coming in,subtract what You need to keep You clothed,fed,housed,and necessary bills paid(light,heat),and start paying off the debt with the highest interest accounts top priority..stop using credit cards,they're DEBT cards.if You have them,don't pay them off by the minimum amount-put a fixed amount towards them set above minimum...economise..see what subscription services You can do without-satellite,cable,etc..Stuff not being used around the house-try selling it on Ebay,garage sales,etc. Good Luck..

Answer 7

Dave Ramsey... check out his book the Total Money Makeover. He has a plan for how you can eliminate your debt... So far it's working for me.

His website provides a preview of his Baby Steps program that I'm working through.

He is the BEST!!

www.daveramsey.com

Answer 8

Here's what a consumer counselor will do. They will sit you down, create a budget looking at all the money you have coming in and all your bills. They will help eliminate excess spendings such as cable bills, daily coffees at starbucks, etc. Then they will rank bills. Then you pay your bills on time. Eventually your credit will improve.

Answer 9

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