Consumer debt is skyrocketing to $14 trillion dollars in America. Many social problems can be contributed to consumer debt. Follow this trail to learn more about the effects of debt, gain some resources to beat debt, and use tools to help calculate your debt reduction plans.
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As consumer debt skyrockets, what age did Tracy get into debt?
What is Tracy's advice on staying out of debt?
Consumer debt is skyrocketing. How much growth occurred in 2007 to consumer debt?
What is the outstanding balance of consumer debt in Quarter 2 of 2008?
From 2002 - 2007, what is the trend of consumer debt; increasing, decreasing, or staying the same?
As consumer debt skyrockets, how does consumer debt affect newlyweds?
Was there a statistical relationship between the amount of debt a person brings into a marriage and the satisfaction they gain from the marriage?
What are some ways this study recommends institutions can take to help newlyweds?
As consumer debt skyrockets, should consumers invest extra money into savings or into their own debt?
What is the deciding factor if you should invest in savings or your own debt?
Is paying off credit cards tax free interest earned?
What is a drawback to paying off debt and not saving at all?
To help decide if you should pay off your debt or invest in savings, calculate your investment potential in your own debt.
How much can you save by investing in your debt?
What is your tax-free investment return percentage on investing in your own debt?
If you decided to invest in your own debt, there are a couple steps to take to ensure you can reap the most return on your investment.
First you need to get a clear picture of how much debt you are currently holding. Use the following form to list all your debts and important information.
2. Make a Spending Plan.
To be able to have the money to get out of debt as fast as possible, we must first understand where we want to go financially. We need to create a spending plan that captures our needs, wants, and desires and balances those items in a time horizon.
This plan does need a "format", as it is just a list of goals of where you would like to be in the future financially. Since we decided to pay off our debt, ensure that goal is at the top of the list.
According to this article, what is the best way to find extra money in your plan to help you pay off your debts?
3. Track income and expenses.
The following list gives you many options to track your finances in order to realize ways to cut back expenses to put toward paying off debt. By tracking your income and expenses, you will be able to be more efficient with handling your money.
Can you name any other personal financial software that you heard of or use?
4. Use the rollover method of debt reduction.
The rollover method is the best and quickest way to reduce debt. The method is to pay down one debt as fast as possible by applying extra money to that one debt. When that debt is paid off, you will "rollover" that entire payment onto the next debt on your list.
Use the tool on this website to calculate how much you can earn by using the rollover method of debt reduction.
5. Stop spending money you don't have.
Finally, you can not reduce debt, if you are taking on more debt every month. Learn to live within your means. Enjoy who and where you are in life and not who and where someone else is.
In time, we can reduce this skyrocketing consumer debt. It starts with you and me recognizing the problem debt creates in our lives and committing to beating debt.
