Getting out of debt can prove to be a big overwhelming task, but it can be done. Now, it won’t happen over night, as you didn’t get yourself into debt over night.
The first step to getting out of debt, is to have a burning desire to want to get out. You may wish you were out of debt, but this isn’t good enough. You need a burning desire. It’s just like quitting smoking, you need a burning desire to quit, not just wishful thinking.
The reason you need a burning desire to get out of debt is because you are going to have to change the way you think, plus make some major life style changes. Without a burning desire, these changes aren’t possible. The next step is to be 100% committed to getting out of debt. You need a very strong commitment. Again, without a strong commitment, you won’t get out of debt. This commitment has to be long term, as it might take you a few years to get out of debt.
One scenario of indebtedness is severe credit card debt. Like me, you might have found yourself in a place where you needed to charge the bare necessities of life, like food and rent. The thinking goes this way. You figure that you have twenty thousand dollars worth of credit on your Visa card, and your monthly payments are about fifty dollars a month….you think….I can handle that. Fifty a month isn’t so bad. You keep on charging, now you’re paying one hundred a month. You charge more, so you pay more per month. Soon, your card gets maxed out and you’re paying two hundred a month at twenty three percent! Yikes! Now you’re stuck. Not only can you not make those two hundred a month payments, you can’t charge more food or rent. You’re in big trouble.
This is only one situation that can be your financial ruin. A lot of people fall for this easy way to pay for things. It always catches up with you. When it does, it’s time for you to take a serious look at how you’re going to start paying those minimum monthly payments. Here’s where the burning desire and commitment comes in. So there you are, you have the burning desire and you want to make the commitment to pay back your debt. This means you will take any steps necessary to start paying the debt.
A good place to start is a credit counseling service. There are lots of them out there, but you need to find a reputable one….one that’s been in business a long time. What they do is negotiate a lower interest rate with your creditors. I am paying a six percent interest rate on my Visa. Of course they charge a fee, but the lower interest rate more than makes up for the fee.
The next thing you might need to do is to increase your income. You might need to take on a part time job in addition to your full time job. This requires energy and you might have to change your lifestyle a bit. For instance, you might go bowling on Tuesday night, so that might have to go. Again, this is where the burning desire and commitment come in. You have to be willing to change something to get something else, namely paying off your debt.
Whatever your situation, you have to take a long hard look at it to see how you are going to start paying off your debt. If you owe the doctor or dentist money, see if you can set up a small monthly payment plan. Most professionals will work with you if you are honest, and show a sincere desire to pay them back. The same is true if you owe the IRS money. They can easily set up a payment plan for you.
Whoever you owe money to, sit down and figure out how much you are able to pay them. Be honest with yourself. Don’t make yourself believe that you can pay more than you are capable of paying. Talk to your creditors. The worst thing you can do is to ignore your creditors. If you do, this will eventually lead them to submit your debt with a collection agency, and they may even take you to court. But remember, your willingness to get out of debt will always start with a burning desire and a strong commitment to be debt free.