Ways To Cut Your Debt
Forty-four million households, or 57% of all credit card users, carry an average balance each month of over $8,000. Since the average interest rate on that debt is 17.11% that generates about $114 per month that each household pays in interest. For some families, such payments may be little more than an annoying inconvenience, but for others it’s quite serious. Yet if you took that money and invested it on behalf of your children (assuming an 8% return for 18 years), you’d have almost $55,000 to cover their college tuition.

So here are some great ways to help you get out of debt or cut back on the debt that you currently have.

Cut Up Your Credit Cards
It’s just too tempting to have more than one card. Have you ever paid the balance on one card only to run up another card the next time you went shopping? If that sounds familiar, then cut up all of your cards except one.

Transfer The Balance
If you get the opportunity to transfer your high interest debt to a lower interest rate, do it. Call your credit card company and ask them to lower your rate;, otherwise you’ll need to transfer that balance to another lower interest card.

Drop Some “Guilty Pleasures”
Once you begin to track where your money goes, you may be surprised at how much you’re throwing away. Consider the coffee drinkers who buy 2-3 cups of premium coffee at their local coffee shop each day. If they dropped that indulgence to just one cup per day,
they’d save enough money to put $1,100 in their IRA account.

Spend Less Than You Earn
While you may not be able to do that overnight, it’s certainly a goal worth working toward. After all, that’s the only way you’ll get out of debt.

Raise The Deductibles
Many people don’t realize the extraordinary premium they pay just to have a lower deductible on their home or auto insurance. Unless you’re prone to accidents, the chances that you’ll use your insurance on a regular basis is slim. So use the extra money that you save on premiums to pay down your debt.

Borrower Against The Equity
One of your biggest sources of available funds at a low interest rate is the equity in your home. Give me a call and I’ll try to help you work out a plan that gets you out of debt using your equity. Then you can take the additional savings each month and invest it.

Tap Into Your Savings
If you’re in debt, the “rainy day” is now. It makes no sense to earn 3% on a savings account and pay 18% on credit card debt.

Sell Something
I’m sure there are many things lying around your house that you don’t really need. If so, get rid of them and use the cash to pay your debts.

By implementing just a few adjustments in your daily routine and thinking before you buy, you’ll quickly find your finances in the shape you’ve always wanted to see them in.