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How to Get Out of Debt: The Real Secret [View all]
No, not much of a secret. They just have to put that in the title to entice people to click on it.
Still, some good--if common sense--tips here, including:
Small Problem #3: You Don’t Know Which Debt to Focus On
This can be one of the trickiest parts of getting out of debt, especially for those who have several credit cards plus other types of debt like student loans, medical debt, etc.
Small Action #3: In general, you want to pay off the debt that has the highest interest rate first. That’s because you will save yourself money by avoiding unnecessary and excessive interest charges over the life of your debt. But also see if you can obtain a lower interest rate: call up your lenders and ask them for a lower rate and if they say “No,” look into balance transfer options or even think about getting a consolidation loan. You can save a ton of money by lowering your interest rate a few percentage points.
This can be one of the trickiest parts of getting out of debt, especially for those who have several credit cards plus other types of debt like student loans, medical debt, etc.
Small Action #3: In general, you want to pay off the debt that has the highest interest rate first. That’s because you will save yourself money by avoiding unnecessary and excessive interest charges over the life of your debt. But also see if you can obtain a lower interest rate: call up your lenders and ask them for a lower rate and if they say “No,” look into balance transfer options or even think about getting a consolidation loan. You can save a ton of money by lowering your interest rate a few percentage points.
Personally, I favor paying off the smallest dollar-amount loan first, even if it has a lower interest rate than some of the other ones. That way you free up some extra money when you pay off the smallest debt (whatever your monthly payment amount was), which you can then apply to the next biggest debt. It also gives you some psychological motivation, an attitude boost, when you see one of your debts wiped off the map. But that's me. That's how we got debt-free way back when.
Other good tips, and full article here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/debt-real-secret-100049112.html
Any personal success stories about getting out of debt? Tips?
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