Archive for January, 2008
How do you get out of debt?
Well, the best way I found was through my own experience. When I was younger I had little regard for money and that was my biggest mistake. What I earned I spent. What I didn’t earn I spent! I was spending money I didn’t have, but at the time I didn’t think of it like that.
It was about three years down the road, after paying the minimum payment on my cards every month, that I suddenly realised I was getting nowhere and my debt was mounting. Someone suggested that I take out a loan to pay off all my credit card debts, and then once the loan had been paid off I would be debt free.
In my enthusiasm to get out of debt, I took out a personal loan over 5 years and cut up all my credit cards. Big mistake! After a few months of plodding along nicely, one of my credit cards that I had destroyed had expired, and a new one came through the post. What I should have done was cancelled the cards with the credit companies so there would be no chance of another one coming along.
All of my resolve to get out of debt evaporated and before I knew it, I was up to the limit on my credit card. I was back to square one.
My saviour, believe it or not came in the form of a self help book. I started to read it with total scepticism. But what I read made sense. I had to change myself and the way my thinking was programmed before I could change my financial situation.
I learned that if I wanted to get out of debt, I had to become more disciplined. The first thing I did was to control my spending. At first, it was hard, years of bad habits are hard to break. I started to deal only in cash.
Every month, I would leave the money from my wages in the bank to cover the mortgage, bills and loan, and then draw the remainder out in cash.
I had an envelope for all other expenses and divided the cash between them. I had a spare envelope that was for any ‘extras’ that may turn up unexpectedly.
This was the envelope I used to build up my cash fund. If I had any spare money it would go in there. I had boot sales for unwanted items and the money I made went in the envelope. I got an evening job to top up my income and the money went into the envelope.
It got to the point of obsession. I would look forward to the challenge of finding reduced items in the supermarket and clothes in the sales. I managed to clear my credit card debt and pay the loan back early. I was free!
This was many years ago, but I can say hand on heart, I have never been in any debt since. I have paid my mortgage off, paid cash for new cars and always have a healthy bank balance. I would never want to feel as helpless and miserable as I did back then.
You see what I did was change my way of thinking. I respect money now. I spend what I can afford and no more. I sleep well at night knowing that I owe nothing. It really is a great feeling, so if you want to get out of debt, try these strategies. If you don’t feel confident enough to tackle the debt yourself, try non profit consumer credit counseling. They will help you set a program to follow and will even negotiate some of your debts for you.
For help, motivation and advice on getting out of debt visit me at http://www.debitconsolidation1.com/Get_out_of_Debt.html
January 31st, 2008
When examining the lives of people who have achieved outstanding results in some way, I have observed certain qualities that have enabled them to attain their goals and aspiration. I am amazed when learning about the lives of ordinary people who have accomplished extraordinary feats.
I have found that the “attitude” of an individual play an extremely strong role in the successes achieved during their lifetime. These individuals have not lived their lives without it’s’ ups and downs.
They have suffered disappointment, defeat, personal losses, and have dealt with similar discouragements that confront us all. It is how we react and respond to these events that makes the difference.
Some of the most difficult experiences we endure are the ones that teach us the greatest life lessons. Take the example of losing a business and have to declare bankruptcy. Where this would be the undoing of one individual, another person will learn and grow from the experience.
Your attitude affects many of your personal qualities. An enthusiastic attitude increases your level of commitment, discipline, determination, and desire. Conversely, a negative attitude diminishes these personal attributes.
A good example we can relate to is the price of gasoline. My family has made it a game in seeing what we can accomplish after we filled our cars with gas 20 days ago and are trying to see how long it will last.
We have spent days at home working on projects, making and wrapping Christmas presents, selling items on ebay, playing games and having friends over.
It is completely within your power to condition yourself to be more positive and enthusiastic. If you have heavy debt, make that debt your challenge, the monster, your opponent that you are going to win and inch by inch you set out to slaughter him!
The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe bad events will last a long time and undermine everything they do. Optimists tend to focus on and plan for the problem at hand.
Optimists preserve. They just do not give up easily, they are also known for their patience. Inching their way a step closer to that goal or elusive dream. They see opportunities instead of obstacles.
By learning to be an optimist it will improve your personal and financial situation. Use humor as much as possible (my very favorite!), identify role models, have a “can-do-approach”, take time to respond to events, surround yourself with enthusiastic people and if your harbor negative feelings, find a way to let them go.
About the Author
Travis Newman has no formal degree in finance, but years of work that he has put in the finance industry makes him perfectly eligible to be called an expert in financial matters. To find debt consolidation loan visit Consolidate Debt and credit card debt.
To get help with your debt now call 1-877-884-0880, a non-profit debt consolidation company.
January 30th, 2008
We’ve all heard it before. It’s much easier to get in debt than out of debt. But why do we believe this? Is it because it’s what we’ve been taught? Who taught us this?
Our society would certainly like to make us believe that debt is simply a part of life and there’s nothing we can do about it.
If you want to buy a house, you have to get a mortgage.
If you want to buy a car, you need financing.
If you want to go to college, you need a student loan.
But what if I told you it was possible to do all these things without ever going in debt? It is, you know.
But it takes self-discipline. You have to be willing to make some sacrifices and “do without” for the short term in order to have for the long term.
And while it’s certainly not easy, if you can just apply a few changes every day, you’ll soon find yourself debt-free and happy!
Tip #1: Want Evaluation
Remember when you were a kid and you asked your parents for something and they told you that you couldn’t have it? Remember what you said?
“But, Moooooommmmm…I NEEEEEED it!”
And what did she say?
“No, you don’t. You WANT it.”
And so, you learned the difference between what you “need” and what you “want.”
Well, I’d like you to take it a step further. Instead of simply deciding whether you need it or want it, determine if you WILL want it, say, five years from now. If the answer is “probably not,” then do without. It’s a waste of money and will take up space you need for something else.
Tip #2: Pay Yourself Last
I know, I know. You’ve heard that you should “pay yourself first.” Well, I think a lot of people misunderstand that. They hear the word “self” in there, and assume it means they get the money to spend on whatever suits their fancy at the time. That’s not the case.
“Pay yourself first” REALLY means pay your debts first. If you owe money, and you have some extra lying around, guess what? It’s not extra. And it’s not yours.
It belongs to someone else. So, simply return it to them. Once everything else has been paid, THEN you can have what’s left. (Remember, it’s nice to share.)
Check out http://www.monsterdebthelp.com for more tips and resources for getting out of debt.
January 29th, 2008
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