I expect if you’ve been searching for how to get out of debt or to become 100% debt free, you have probably read tens if not hundreds of different articles on methods of getting out of debt and have no doubt read lots of sales blurb from companies who claim they can get you out of debt in a very short, often unrealistic short space of time. If you’ve done this, you’re not alone. There is a ton of advice out there when it comes to getting out of debt, sometimes it’s often contrasting or conflicting also, which doesn’t help your cause.
The fact is, getting out of debt is down to good debt management. Whether it’s taking additional loans to clear other loans, playing the balance transfer credit card game, consolidating your debts with a debt consolidation loan or even just restructuring your monthly outgoings - it all comes down to debt management. Managing your finances effectively should be a priority. You need to know specifically how much money you have coming in each month and how much is going out. This is the case for all financial elements of your life - not just debt. You need more coming in than you pay out. Once you have these figures, you need to figure out how much money you can spare to pay off your debts each month. If you can ONLY make the minimum payments, then you need to consolidate. Making the minimum payment is NOT going to get you out of debt. If you can make the minimum payment and still have a fair amount of money left over, then you need to start making additional lump sum payments off your debts, starting with the provider who is charging the most interest.
If you get debt free from one credit card or loan, each one on going will get easier and easier, quicker and quicker as each time you clear one, you have more funds each month to pay off the next.