Almost everyone has incurred a certain amount of debt at one point in their lives. We shrug it off and say that it’s part of life.
It’s indeed normal to incur debt. While there is a certain truth to that statement, it doesn’t have to be a law of nature that we should submit to. This truth does not have to be your reality. You can turn your situation around and relieve yourself of debt or even prevent it if you still remain debt-free until today.
The Problem
Many people go through their lives, toiling and laboring to make ends meet and pay off their debts. Some do things on the side to earn extra money for debt payment, while others hold down two jobs just to fulfill their obligations.
What is truly the problem? Why do debts seem inevitable? Believe it or not, the problem is never about how expensive things are or how high credit card or loan interests are.
Brick-and-mortar and online shops regularly hold seasonal and off-seasons sales to make things more affordable. Small to middle-sized businesses also give common folks great deals and give larger competitions some sort of competition. You can always avoid high credit card interest rates by paying in cash every time. These things aren’t the problem. The main concern is your spending habits.
The Solution
Financial experts and advisors would always give tips on how to get out of debt fast and stay away from it.
They say that you should list down all of your debts, even the smallest and most trivial one, and take a good grim look at it. Afterward, you get started by paying off the smallest debt and taking them on one at a time, from smallest to biggest. The idea here is to eliminate as much debt as you can in the fastest way possible.
The smaller debts are, of course, easier to pay off than the larger ones. As you start paying your debts one at a time, you start gaining momentum which will eventually snowball. Makes sense, right?
You can also consider debt consolidation if the need arises. While there are advantages and disadvantages to this, it still brings some sort of debt relief by providing a more manageable payment plan. But, of course, it will depend on your context and situation. No amount of debt consolidation loan in Singapore, Australia, or the United States can solve your problems if you don’t change your spending habits.
Change Your Habits
People say that habits are hard to break. That’s true, but it doesn’t say that they cannot be broken. It’s only difficult. For you to get out of debt and stay that way, there are certain negative mindsets and behaviors you need to own up to and address.
There are a lot of reasons why people incur debt. Some are more personal and tragic than others. However, the first step to breaking out of that cycle is to stop making excuses and start taking ownership of your spending.
Make a financial plan. List all your income streams and see how it stacks up against your spending habits. Your spending should never be more than the money coming in. Make an honest assessment of your lifestyle and see if you have been living beyond your means. If you find yourself in a deficit, you need to cut off some of your expenses. This can be hard and painful to do, but the reward of becoming debt-free is totally worth it.
Money management is 80% behavior and 20% knowledge. It isn’t enough that you know the principles. You turn things around by taking what you know and putting it into action. That’s how you get out of debt and stay debt-free.