Finance Roll

Financial Debt? Haven't we all been there at some time or another? Are you there now? Having an overwhelming amount of debt is stressful... extremely stressful! Don't fear though because you CAN change all that. If you follow a few simple tips and stay focused and committed to reducing your debt, you will!

Tips to reducing your debt load:

Sit down and evaluate all of your outgoing bills and their monthly amounts:

• Mortgage or Rent
• Utility Bills (Electric, water, gas etc)
• Car Loans
• Credit Card bills
• Store card bills
• Education loans
• Insurances (Home, car, renters, life)
• Groceries
• Gas (Vehicle)
• Entertainment Expenses

Mortgage | Rent- Now that you know what your outgoing bills are, make a game plan to reduce the debt load. Generally speaking you can't reduce your rent, car loan, mortgage etc without either refinancing or moving. So, evaluate that for a moment. Can you move and live in a cheaper place? Can you refinance? If not, don't worry, you can do other things to help reduce your debt!

Credit Cards | Store Credit-Take a look at the interest rates on your credit cards...are any of them particularly high (20% or more per month). Yes?

• Ok...first of all, if you have at least been paying on time for at least a year, you have leverage with the creditor. Call them up and ask for a lower interest rate! NEGOTIATE! NEGOTIATE! It NEVER hurts to ask, and guess what, even if they offer a few points off that is better than where you are at right now!
• Second, pay off your highest interest rate card first!
• Always pay more than the minimum on the card you are targeting while paying minimums on the rest.
• Once you have paid off that high card, roll that same payment into the next highest card on top of the minimum payment you were already paying. This tip works awesome because now things are going to really start going faster for you!
• You will repeat the two previous steps for all you cards until they are paid off.

Education Loans- These are some of the best loans you can ever have!

• Contact your lender and ask for a forbearance. They will ask you why and just explain your circumstance. They can delay your paying the loan back for months at a time if needed. This will reduce your current outgoing monies so that you can use them for other thins like paying down your credit cards!

Insurance-This is a challenging category to reduce, but if you work at it methodically, you can adjust your outlay here as well.

• Go over your premiums with your current insurance company...most of the time people are over insured.
• Review your deductible...generally the higher your deductible you are willing to spend, the lower your monthly premium. Keep in mind, if something happens you owe your deductible if you file a claim with your insurer.
• Ask about good driver discounts, good grade discounts for students. If you don't ask, they won't offer.
• Review your life insurance policy with your insurer if you have one.

Gas-What kind of gas do you purchase? Are you always purchasing the most expensive because the "experts" say it is the best for your engine?

• Pull out your vehicle operating manual-under the fuel systems section there is a recommendation for what fuel you should be using that the vehicle performs best on. Use that fuel only...it might be that it is cheaper than what you were using!
• Get that oil changed as advised by the operating manual! Frequent oil changes lessen the wear and damage on the engine, and increase fuel efficiency. This equals better gas mileage...less money spent.

Other expenses (groceries, entertainment etc)

• Here is where you can limit your spending based on choice. At the store, purchase non-name brand items...most of the time they are as good or better than name brand and are cheaper!
• Eat more meals at home...take time to make a lunch and take to work rather than spending $5-10 per day on lunches.
• Cut out frivolous non essential items for a while...i.e. Coffee from that coffee shop in the morning (you know you always buy that Danish to go with it!) This adds up!
• Instead of eating out every night, try eating in! Plan your week's meals on Saturday or Sunday and go shopping for the groceries.
• Do you really need all those cable/satellite channels...reduce your monthly bill by asking for their basic package.

Well, these are all tips I have used to reduce my debt load and live a worry free financial life. They are only tips and recommendations...there are no guarantees on any of it. I do guarantee however that if you start to implement some of these ideas, you will see results. It takes time; patience and determination...so don't give up!