Credit card debt can not only ruin your financially, but have a very poor effect on your overall health – and even relationships. Sometimes it can feel like you will never get out from underneath of it, and I know it can be heavy. But don’t give up! There are ways that you can work on eliminating that debt and yes – become debt free!
The first step is to admit you have a problem – generally speaking most people in credit card debt didn’t get there paying their rent and regular month to month bills (though it can happen on occasion, however) we overspend. We like it, we buy it. We YOLO our lives (that’s me, I’ve always been about the YOLO) so as much as you do need to live in the moment, you need to be smart, and think about the future. My Dad used to tell me, “Live like there is no tomorrow, but plan as if you’ll live forever.” Balance is key, and you can still enjoy life -but first, we need to get finances under control.
BUDGET EVERY PENNY
This is a hard hard thing for me. But if you realized how much money you ‘waste’ all while complaining that you have all this debt – you’ll understand why others are frustrated with you. Stopping for coffee, grabbing lunch, oh that shirt is on sale, oh I NEED those shoes. You would be surprised how quickly those ‘nickel and dime’ purchases you make add up! Did you know that the average American wastes approximately $1400 a month on non essentials? Between coffee stops, lunches, subscriptions, etc, that is a lot of money to go towards paying off your debt!
SNOWBALL YOUR DEBT
As Dave Ramsey says, ‘snowball your debt‘Snowballing means you pay the smallest balance off first, and work your way up. What I love about the snowball effect is that you can SEE your debt disappearing. As you pay off 1 card, then another, you start to feel motivated to pay off the others. When you pay off one card, you take the minimum payment you made on that and you add it to your minimum payment on the next lowest card, and so on and so forth. It’s very fulfilling to see the balances decrease, and cards be completely paid off! (don’t forget to close them once you pay them off – to avoid temptation!)
PICK UP EXTRA JOBS WHENEVER POSSIBLE
I dislike when I hear people say they don’t have time for another job – if that was the case, you probably didn’t have time to spend all the money you did either. You may not make a ton of money, but babysitting, Uber or Lyfting , house cleaning, selling stuff from around your house, ask your job for over time, check your local Facebook community groups for people needing assistance removing debris or a lawn care provider. If you set your mind to it, you CAN do it. The extra $40/$50 bucks won’t seem like much if you just blow it like normal, but if you take it and immediately pay it on debt, it will make a huge difference!
IF YOUR TOO FAR OVER YOUR HEAD, TALK TO GRAND CANYON ADVISORS
Most of us can cut back, or work more to get a head of our debt and work on becoming debt free- but there are some that are in soo deep that they need professional help to negotiate interest rates ,or payments or even collections. The advisors at Grand Canyon can look at your individual case and help you determine what the best cause of action is for you.
Don’t delay! As much as you’d like to ignore it , debt doesn’t go anywhere unless you take care of it!
