Goldilocks And The Three Debt-Elimination Strategies
There are more than three debt-elimination strategies, but following will be several that can help you determine which options are best for you and your situation. These strategies include: consolidation of existing debt and associated expenses, reduction of recurring expenses, and living beneath your means.
One: Consolidation Of Existing Debt And Associated Expenses
There are some good agencies who can advise you if you are considering consolidation; for example, DebtAcademy.com specializes in: “…providing resources for managing personal debt, commercial debt, credit counseling, consolidation, and more.”
Many companies consolidate infrastructure to cut costs. What this means is that they put everything together into a single manageable “chunk. For example, instead of having ten departments working separately, they’ll use cloud computing cover operations singularly which previously took multiple groups to fulfill. You can do the same thing with your finances.
If you’ve got multiple areas of debt, what you can so is combine them into a single loan through a loan consolidation. If you’ve got $10k in student loans, $6k in credit card debt, and $10k in other miscellaneous debts, you might take out a loan for $26k, pay off those debts immediately, and simply pay off the new loan.
You can save this way because you won’t be paying three separate interest rates in addition to the principals on the loans you took out. You’ll just be paying one interest rate on the new consolidated loan. This can help you pay off what you owe more quickly.
Two: Reduction Of Recurring Expenses
You want to get more by spending less. One way to do that might be to eliminate the monthly cost of utilities on a piece of property you own. If you’re paying $100 a month for electricity, cutting this expense will save $1,200 annually. In five years, you’ve saved enough to buy a decent used car.
Strategies to do this include solar, wind, and water energy. These can do several things to save you money. One, they cut your utility costs. Two, they increase property value. Three, depending on your state, using a “green” solution could net you a tax break. The downside is paying for installing such solutions.
However, being in debt doesn’t mean you have bad credit—not necessarily, anyway. If your credit is good enough, one strategy might be to take out a loan for installation of a solar energy system before selling your property. Such a system can increase property value between $10k and $20k depending on your state.
It generally costs around $5k to install a 5.1 kWh solar energy system if you do it yourself and source cost-effective components. Since this increases property value between $10k and $20k, it represents a sound investment. Once you’ve sold your property and paid off the loan, you see between $5k and $15k profit, which can be turned to paying off other debts.
Three: Live Beneath Your Means
You don’t need fast food, you don’t need energy drinks, you don’t need five dollar gourmet coffees, you don’t need to pay $500 a month financing that new car, you don’t need a $2,000 mortgage on a five-bedroom house for your family of four, and you don’t need that financed furniture set.
All you need is a place to rest your head, a hygiene strategy, and proper nutrition. Provide this for yourself and your family, then cut out excesses until you’re debt-free. Keep that practice up for a few years after and you’ll have a surplus which allows you to make discretionary purchases, too.
Live Debt Free
If you consolidate debts, cut unnecessary spending, and live beneath your means, you can get out of debt and stay out of debt. It takes time, but it can be done.
