Four Steps To A Debt Free Life

Australians pay billions of dollars in interest on their debt every day. Instead of letting the banks profit from our debt, all of us should be looking to make our debt burden as cheap as possible. Here are four steps to do that.

1. Set A Goal

Obviously we would all love to be out of debt and in the clear, sooner, rather than later. The first step towards a debt free life is the stated goal of destroying your debt.

There are a number of really simple things that can be done to achieve that goal such as budgeting your expenses and keeping a diary of your spending habits. Both of which will enable you to calculate where your money is going and how much if any, spare cash you can generate to attack your debt load, once your monthly living expenses have been met.

2. Move Your Debt To A Zero Percent Card

It is not the most revolutionary new advice, but moving your credit card debt on to another card and taking advantage of a zero per cent balance transfer deal is really one of the best ways of getting on top of your debt.

Once you get to the end of the zero per cent period, you should be ready to move whatever balance you did not manage to clear, to another zero per cent card, before the higher APR comes into effect.

3. Reduce Your Overdraft Interest Charges

Borrowing on an overdraft can be a difficult habit to break, especially when the finances are stretched. If you find yourself having to dip into an overdraft regularly, why not try and reduce your interest bill by switching to a current account that offers lower interest rates.

Many banks offer lower or ever zero per cent overdraft facilities for the first year, so long as you are making regular payments into your bank account. These offers are only introductory, so you should be aware that once the offer period is up, you will have to make regular interest payments, so you should make every effort to get back into the black as soon as possible.

4. Get Advice

Prior to the credit crunch, lenders seemed very happy to hand out credit as if it were sweets. It is therefore not that much of a surprise that some people carry a little more debt than they are comfortable with.

If you find that you are in over your head, there are a number of free debt counselling services, where you can get advice and you can do it for free.

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Comments

One Response to “Four Steps To A Debt Free Life”

  1. Mohd on January 27th, 2010 5:28 am

    Debt Settlement Program is actually quite simple. Your current level of unsecured debt will be skillfully negotiated for you, and essentially you will end up paying a fraction of the debt.

    Debt Quote

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