Useful & Actionable 7 Tips for Reducing Debt

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7 Actionable Tips for Reducing Debt   There is
nothing more financially reassuring than
eliminating your debt its liberating that you
dont have to think about the next payment or due
date. And while there are those who find it easy
to stay virtually debt-free, some find it doubly
difficult to keep out of the red.   Whether your
balance is 5,000 or 50,000, the principles in
avoiding the accumulation of debt are the same.
Here are seven tips you can start applying today
to keep debt at a minimum and begin your journey
to become debt free now debtfreenow
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Pick One Debt to Pay Off Completely First You
might be tempted to distribute your payments
across all debts, thinking that you can get rid
of more in a shorter period. However, you may
find that youre spreading yourself too thin and
find it even harder to get out of debt.   Choose
just one debt and finish paying that one off
before moving on to the next. If you have
multiple debts that accumulate interest, pay the
minimum amount due of those, while allocating a
bigger amount for your priority debt.   Debt
prioritization, though, can be a tricky subject.
Looking through a financial lens, you should pay
off the highest-rate debt first paying off 100
towards a 2,000 bill with 15 interest rate will
produce better results than paying off 100 for a
bill at 5 interest.   However, theres also a
benefit in paying off the smaller bills first
you can produce early results, and make yourself
feel better about eliminating your debts and
therefore feel more motivated to pay off the
remaining ones.
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Track Your Purchases Make a list of your fixed
versus variable expenses say your weekly
groceries versus dining in a restaurant and
create a budget plan based on these items and
your actual income.   Always allocate funds for
your fixed expenses, such as water and
electricity. These are basic needs that cant be
compromised, so never take money away from these
funds to spend for a variable expense.   For
fixed supplies such as toilet paper, soap or
shampoo, you can opt for budget brands while
youre in the process of climbing your way out of
debt. As for non-essential variables such as
desserts, video games and cable TV, its better
to eliminate these expenses from your budget as
you recover financially. Youll be surprised how
much of these you can actually live without.
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Follow a Schedule In relation to keeping watch
over your expenses, its also wise to follow a
fixed schedule in paying off your bills. Heres a
tip Dont try paying everything on a single date
-- youll probably feel overwhelmed shelling out
huge amounts of cash in one day.   Instead,
review the due dates of your bills, group those
that can be paid on the same date, and make a
payment schedule for a specific set of bills. If
you need to make multiple payments -- say half of
your monthly bill every two weeks to lessen the
burden then, go for it. Set reminders on your
phone or mark your calendar so you dont forget
that your payment schedule is coming up.
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Cut Off or Downgrade Services and
Subscriptions   You probably have unnecessary or
redundant services at home that you can cut off
or downgrade to cut back on costs. Do you have a
relatively fast internet connection? You can
probably get your important online activities
done with a more basic and more affordable
subscription.   You might want to get a cheaper
cable TV package or have it removed entirely and
opt for online streaming services instead. If you
just cant let go of cable TV, evaluate your
viewing habits and ask your cable company to
remove the channels that you dont watch
often.   Newspaper and magazine subscriptions you
may think are regular services in your normal
life should be reviewed and given consideration
as essential services. The cash youll free up
can be used to make a dent on your debt payments.
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Allocate Part of Windfall to Debt   Do you have a
part-time job or occasional freelance work? You
might be tempted to spend all that extra cash on
your non-essential expenses. Before you do that,
consider how much faster you can get out of debt
if the funds went to your monthly
payments.   Its really a matter of discipline
and emotional intelligence. Avoid falling into
the trap of thinking you can spend the extra
money on frivolous items because you feel you
worked hard for it. The reality is that most
people incur debt because they spent the money
they had not earned yet. Theres a price to pay
for instant gratification you just have to
realize your extra income is part of being
fiscally responsible.
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  Monitor Your Progress   For some reinforcement
and motivation, remind yourself not of how much
you still have to pay but of how far youve come
along in paying off your debts. Stick notes on
your fridge, color-code your calendar, use your
phones reminder feature anything to help
remind you that youre making headway. The end
goal is to not stop until you are debt free.  
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Get Professional Help   Sometimes, financial
trouble can seem like a never-ending battle
thats impossible to solve alone. Theres no
shame in coming to terms with needing a little
assistance with the problem, developing a plan to
address it and keeping yourself on track to get
back to good financial health.
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In cases like this, there are some very valid and
legitimate options to get help from debt relief
professionals who understand how to guide you in
reducing your debt or helping you to create a
plan to eliminate your debt completely. These
experts know the ins and outs of the credit
system and theyll be able to provide you the
best advice on how to reduce debt in a
sustainable way.   You may be surprised with how
far you can get along with negotiation, debt
consolidation and good, old fashioned budgeting.
Keep in mind that most personal finance problems
have a solution. You just have to be
well-informed and disciplined to turn your
situation around.     Remember that the
accumulation of debt can happen to anyone. It
doesnt mean that these people are bad or stupid
it only means they made some mistakes that can
be corrected. What matters is that youre taking
the high road by owning up to the situation and
honoring obligations to your creditors.   If you
like this article use this search term
DebtReliefNow or click on this link to discover
other articles on this similar topic.
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10. Set up an emergency fund.   If you dont
already have one, set up an account for emergency
situations. This is an important step in paying
off your debts if unexpected expenses come up.
  You can aim for at least a 1,000 for an
initial amount and grow it later on. This comes
in handy for hospital bills, emergency
maintenance for your home and other random but
hefty expenses.
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Getting out of debt and gaining control of your
finances are little triumphs in life remember
to celebrate this milestone even in a simple way.
Give yourself a little reward for continued
motivation on being more financially
responsible.   If you like this article use this
search term DebtReliefNow or click on this link
to discover other articles on this similar topic.
  Similar Hashtags and Keywords debtsettlement,
getoutofdebt, debtrelief, creditconsultation,
creditrelief, debthelp, debtsolutions,
debtreduction, debtreductionservices,
debtreliefcompanies,
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Getting out of debt and gaining control of your
finances are little triumphs in life remember
to celebrate this milestone even in a simple way.
Give yourself a little reward for continued
motivation on being more financially
responsible.   If you like this article use this
search term DebtReliefNow or click on this link
to discover other articles on this similar topic.
  Similar Hashtags and Keywords debtsettlement,
getoutofdebt, debtrelief, creditconsultation,
creditrelief, debthelp, debtsolutions,
debtreduction, debtreductionservices,
debtreliefcompanies,
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