Wednesday, 30 Jan 2008
Debt reduction is a concern for many people. Here are eight steps you can take to get your debt under control.
- Don’t accumulate new debt! Cut up those credit cards or file them away in a drawer. Put them in a bowl of water in the freezer if you have to. The first step in eliminating debt is not adding to the existing balance.
- Get rid of the temptation and reduce the amount of junk mail you get. Opt out of new credit card offers by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT.
- Ask your creditors to reduce your interest rates. If you always make your payments on time, your creditors may be willing to work with you and lower the interest rate on your debt.
- Always pay more than the minimum amount due. A $1000 balance at 0% APR will take over FIVE YEARS to pay off if you only pay the minimums.
- Use an automatic bill payment service in order to avoid incurring late fees.
- If you anticipate a tax refund, consider using the lump sum to reduce or eliminate your credit card debt.
- If you have a good credit score, consider consolidating your debt by taking advantage of balance transfer offers.
- DON’T trade unsecured debt for secured debt. Resist the urge to use a home equity loan to pay off your credit cards.
June 30th, 2008 at 10:20 AM
LOVE this topic. Each issue of Essence mag. has me flipping to the section that they call “side hustle”. I was looking into teaching at an online university but I think I got too busy. I like side hustles. Here is the Essence mag. online list of side hustles…check them out some are pretty good. http://www.essence.com/essence/workandwealth/yourmoney/0,16109,1629679,00.html
July 1st, 2008 at 12:36 PM
A very good read…very practical but often ignored ideas…
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:54 AM
Some good ideas. I posted on my blog that I came into some printing supplies that netted me a pretty penny via eBay.
I’m starting yet another new job, but I’ll be daggoned if I allow that to be my only source of income. Been burned too many times by that way of thinking.
You make a good point. A coworker’s wife brings in extra income by finding things to resell on eBay. While it’s not a huge amount of money, every bit helps.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:00 AM
I should add that I’ve done the plasma thing in college, but not since then.
I guess I could take a second job on the weekends as long as I know in advance when my primary gig will require weekend/night work. Then I could let the second gig know.
Trouble is, sometimes you don’t always get that notice; corporate America is notorious for dropping last minute stuff on folk.