Fair enough they’re more conscious and aware of the credit laws and they probably have contacts within the credit companies that can fast track things and remove some of the brick wall like dead ends you may confront but with perseverance you can accomplish the same goals.
If you are somebody that needs some sort of accountability to get started with your debt payment program, then a credit or debt management program will provide that service for you. You should be aware however that some of these debt management programs will not help you unless you have already fallen behind with your repayments. You should investigate up front what the requirements are and if you can meet them.
Your Own Debt Management Program
Before you begin your own debt management program there are a couple of things you will want to do:
* Stop using any credit cards that are close to the limit. It doesn’t make any sense to carry on using them if you are trying to clear them.
* Work out your total debt. You need to know exactly what you are starting with in order to devise a plan to cut it down.
* You can start in the same way you would if you were working out a budget. Gather together your monthly bills and your credit card statements. If you already have a budget laid out then use that to get the figures that you will need to work from.
* Once you’ve totalled up how much money goes to recurring bills, work out what is leftover. Don’t include credit card bills in with the regular bills as these are the ones you want to clear first.
* Your next step is to decide how you will split that leftover money and where you can cut the costs and save the most. We all need to shop for groceries but see what you can cut back on and put towards your repayments. You don’t need to stop buying anything if you don’t want to, you could simply switch to the supermarkets own brand or switch supermarkets.
A Double Incentive
But obviously the biggest savings will come if you do stop buying certain items. Here’s an idea, a lot of us consider loosing a little weight at some point, maybe you could cut down on the ‘treats’ a little and your waistline will benefit as well as your bank balance. Now how’s that for an incentive.;)
Trying to pay an equal amount to all of your creditors will not get any one of them off your back any time soon. There are a couple of choices when it comes to a pay down strategy -
* The Snowball effect – this involves starting with the creditor with the lowest balance and committing as much money as you can afford to pay it off. Once that’s done, you move to the creditor with the next lowest balance and so on.
* Stacking your debt – Here you start with the highest interest rate creditor. Pay as much money as possible towards it and get it out of the way and then move to the next highest and so on.
It’s important to remember that you need to continue to pay the minimum to your other creditors to avoid falling in to arrears. Whichever plan you choose with a little self discipline you will see a light at the end of the debt tunnel and regain financial freedom.
Need help with your Debt Payment Program? Firstfriendly can help with an easy and transparent money and debt management service.
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