|
Debt Management and Health Cleaning Up Past Debt Management Mistakes
Everybody makes mistakes. Mistakes may be one of the few things that every human being on the planet has in common with every other human being on the planet. No matter how well educated we are or how street smart we are, we are all going to make mistakes in our lives. It's a given.
Mistakes in debt management are one of the most common of all the possibilities.
Getting in over your head financially speaking has become so commonplace that an entire industry has emerged to deal with the problem. It really isn't hard to see how and why this happens.
The credit card companies make getting into deep debt easy. Anybody who has a social security number can get a credit card. You fill out an application, of course, but the information on the credit card is not verified. Employment is not verified and other debts are not considered when a credit card is issued. Even dogs (the real kind that have four legs) have been issued credit cards.
The spending limit that is set on a credit card can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars.
Then we are all bombarded with advertisements for goods and services that are very attractive. Our friends have stuff, and our neighbors have stuff, and we want the same stuff. With credit card in hand, we set out to get the stuff, and suddenly there is a mountain of debt.
There are about three options: debt consolidation loan, home equity loan, or bankruptcy. Most people will choose either a debt consolidation loan or a home equity loan in an attempt to clean up past debt management mistakes.
Either works, but unless lessons have been learned well enough that they will not be repeated, the industry can depend on repeat business.
See Also:
Credit / Debt Management - Credit Repair Improve Credit Score and Pay Off Debt
| Debt Management Debt Collectors Debt Management Experts
People who work as debt management experts go to school for that sort of thing. Many spend four years or more getting college degrees that identify them as experts in the money and debt management fields. And they are experts, there's no doubt about it.
The best of the debt management experts and debt management teachers, however, are those who have learned to manage their personal finances and their personal debts, and then passed that knowledge along to their children.
Those who actually do it are the experts, and they are the ones that we need to learn from to avoid having to visit with a well-educated debt management expert because we have gotten ourselves into financial hot water.
As I look around at expert debt managers (those who successfully manage their own finances) I find that they have many things in common. They don't all do things exactly the same way, of course, but the structure in which they manage their finances is basically the same.
1. They save first. Those people who know how to save very rarely get into financial trouble. Sure, they can. Life can throw some pretty hard curve balls....the loss of a job or a major illness. But unless their financial trouble is caused by an outside force they will not get themselves in debt up to their eyeballs.
2. They live within their means. They do not base their spending upon what their friends have. The neighbors might buy a new car, but that will have no bearing upon whether they do or not.
3. They all have budgets. Not only do they have budgets, but they live within the constraints of that budget. They do not make impulse buys. If asked, they could tell you how much is spent each month on food, shelter, clothing, utilities, and transportation. |
|
More articles:
Low Interest Rates Credit Cards - Redeemer or Devil? » Debt Lessons
Personal finance poorly covered in SA online media
Risk Management Opportunities Continue to Expand
Credit Counseling and Debt Consolidation - CareOneCredit.com
Individual Voluntary Arrangement
| Debt Management Wiggle Room Debt Management: Getting the Priorities Straight
Using half your paycheck to buy lottery tickets in hopes of winning millions instantly is not a satisfactory debt management plan. Successful debt management is based upon truth, reality, and keeping your priorities straight.
The necessities of life must come first when you make your debt management plan. You need food, shelter, utilities, transportation, and clothing....and pretty much in that order. After the total cost of these necessities is subtracted from your bring home pay, what's left is your disposable income.
How much you spend on each of these necessities will determine the total cost of your necessities. When you cut the cost of any of the necessities, you will have more disposable income and when you add to the cost of the necessities, you will have less disposable income.
My daddy summed it up pretty well for me. He said, “The less you spend on what you have to have, the more you will have to spend on what you want to have.”
You have to make your own choices, of course, but here are just a few ideas that might help:
1. Food: It costs less to eat at home than it does to eat out.
2. Shelter: Less space costs less money....usually.
3. Utilities: Raise the thermostat by two degrees in the summer and lower it by two degrees in the winter. Turn off lights when you leave a room. Don't leave water running.
4. Transportation: A five-year-old car will take you to the same places that a new car will take you.
5. Clothing: Clothes purchased at discount stores costs less than clothing purchased at upscale clothiers.
Debt management is all about getting your priorities straight and making choices. Priorities are nonnegotiable, but how much you spend on them is negotiable. |
Related Topics: Credit Card Debt Management,
Debt Management-Getting the Priorities Straight, Debt Management through Bankruptcy
|