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Now, here's where I get to say: "I love it
when a plan comes together...", because this
truly is where all the elements work together to
make this process WAY less painful than it might
be otherwise.
1. We've found a monthly budget within which
we're willing to live temporarily... a number
that is within range of our current income.
2. We've brainstormed and discovered additional
revenue sources...more dollars will soon be
coming in the door (and if eBay is one of the
paths you've chosen to use, you'll soon be
discovering the joys of money coming in very,
very quickly thru
Paypal). |
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3. Now, we come to Step 3. What are you going to
do with that new money? |
|
Well, fortunately, you made a commitment back in
Step 1 to live on a budget...so we know you're
not going to spend it, right? |
|
Most of us have different kinds of debt...from
installment loans to department store and major
credit cards. While bill consolidation loans
aren't always a bad idea, there's some advantage
to being able to deal with your debts one
element at a time. So here's the plan: |
|
List all your debts on a sheet of paper...then
sort them from the highest to the lowest
interest rate. Then, do one more sort. Within
cards or accounts with a relatively similar high
rate, find the one with the lowest balance. This
is your initial target account. |
|
Now, we've answered the question as to what to
do with the new money we freed up or brought in
with Step 2. Bring all those financial resources
to bear on your target account. The more you
bring, the sooner it disappears. Depending on
how big it is and how much money Step 2 brought
in or is continuing to bring in, this may be
paid off almost immediately, or it may take some
time. But, if you keep to your commitment, it
WILL be paid off. |
|
Once you're paid off your initial target
account, close it. Then find your next target
account. Remember, high interest rate + lower
balance = shorter payoff time. But...guess what?
This one will be paid off even faster... because
now, you're not making the payment on that
original target account anymore, are you? So
there's even MORE money for your next target. |
|
Pretty soon, you'll be paying some pretty big
bucks toward your final target account.... and
then, you'll be FREE from debt. And that was the
original goal, wasn't it? |
|
Good...now let's move on to some
Straight Talk about debt and money matters. |
