Best Long-Term Ways to Escape Debt
Debt is like quicksand. Once you’re trapped in it, it will continue to pull you deeper down into its clutches the more that you struggle. The only way to free yourself from it is to focus on escaping debt in the long-term. Below are some methods devised to help you do just that.
1. Cut Up Your Credit Cards
Canceling your credit cards can potentially lower your credit rating, which in turn can make creditors more aggressive when it comes to trying to collect on your debts. That leaves you with only one option: cut up your credit cards so that you can’t use them.
If you can’t use them, then you can’t add more debt to your plate. This will give you an opportunity to begin paying back what you owe in small increments, which will add up in the long-term.
2. Do You Really Need That?
Freeing yourself from debt requires you to decrease it incrementally. The only way to do this is to lower your cost of living, which means seriously reconsidering if you really need that new toy, fresh-off-the-lot car or brand new wireless phone.
Consider what you can do without, then cut the most expensive costs. This will free up your money so that you can begin decreasing your debt at a faster rate.
3. Don’t Consider Debt in the First Place
Reducing your debt is the only way to become debt free, but there are a plethora of ways to acquire more debt. That means you need to work to eliminate taking out loans and acquiring new credit cards as a way to pay your expenses.
In other words, try to purchase only things that you can pay with using cash in your hand or your bank account. If you’re able to do this over the long run, you’ll find that your debts won’t increase. This is essential to ensuring that you’ll be able to become free from debt.
Debt Counseling
There are a multitude of schemes out there that prey on people in desperate economic situations. One way to avoid these is to find agency members with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a government-recognized entity that enforces important consumer protections. For instance, any agent you contact through them will offer financial counseling either for free or for a very low fee, usually around $20. They can look over your current situation and advise you of your best options.
4. Consider Filing Bankruptcy
Depending upon how deep in debt you are, it may be a good idea to consider declaring bankruptcy. By filing chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can help yourself achieve a fresh slate for your finances while ending those harassing calls from creditors.
Lynch & Belch P.C. Attorneys at Law only recommend this step if you know that you won’t fall into the clutches of debt again, as bankruptcy is a serious commitment that has lasting consequences for years.
Freedom From Debt is a Long, Hard Road
Freeing yourself from debt will usually take months and even years to do, but it is possible by keeping the goal at the end of that long, hard road in sight. One day, you’ll find that those harsh phone calls and angry letters will just stop.
Share this:
Category: Credit Cards, Debt
