Are you suffocating under a mountain of personal credit card or unsecured debt? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans are financially overextended. When you have a large amount of debt, it may seem like the light at the end of the tunnel is out of your reach. However, people who seek out credit counseling in Seattle, while actively working to change their spending and saving habits, can find their way out of debt sooner than they think.
Habits of Debt-free Americans
It may be hard to believe, but there are people who live their lives with little or no debt. Individuals who are able to achieve a debt-free lifestyle typically believe in the old adage that encourages people to pay themselves first. Debt-free people are not usually spenders but savers. These individuals make it a point to pay themselves first by setting aside a certain amount in savings each week.
These same people believe in living within their means. This means that instead of taking out a store credit card to purchase an item they don’t have the money for at the moment, they opt to save their money until they can pay in cash.
When you are struggling to pay your mortgage because you have thousands of dollars in credit card bills, it may seem like you’ll never be debt-free and live this carefree, simple lifestyle. But, with a lot of work and effort, you can break free from debt and live a debt-free life.
Prepare for a Long Journey
As you begin the journey towards rebuilding your credit and freeing yourself from financial debt, take a deep breath and envision yourself living a debt-free lifestyle. It feels good, doesn’t it? It also feels overwhelming. Throughout the process of eliminating debt and rebuilding your credit, it is important to remind yourself that it is a slow and steady process.
You did not get into this situation overnight; therefore, you won’t come out of it right away. There will be struggles and uncertainty along the way as you pay off credit cards, medical bills, school loans, and anything else that is holding you back from living without debt. But once you begin seeing changes in your credit report and receiving fewer bills each month, it will start to feel great.
Paying Off Your Debts
There are plenty of books and experts out there that will tell you a million different ways to pay down your debt. Some will suggest you pay off loans with the highest interest rates first. Others may suggest you consolidate your loans so you pay only one bill each month (although if you have bad credit, this may not be an option). Each of these suggestions has merit, but they may not work well for you.
Many people with massive amounts of debt feel like they are making progress when they pay off smaller loans first. The psychological implications from eliminating a smaller bill right away can go a long way in helping a person stick with their plan to eliminate their overall debt.
Consider Credit Counseling
Sometimes people find themselves in debt because of a major incident like the loss of a job or a medical issue. Other people slowly acquire debt because they have problems managing money. For individuals with money management problems, credit counseling in Seattle can help these kinds of people create a financial plan, provide them with resources to help them stick with the plan, and also help negotiate lower interest payments with creditors. Many people who have stuck with a credit counseling service have found that they reduce their debt faster than those who choose to do it on their own.
