Debt can be really, really annoying sometimes. Often, it gets in the way of doing things that you’d like to do in your life. For instance, friends might invite you to take a ski trip. But all you can say in response is, “sorry, I have to watch my finances.”
In this post, therefore, we take a look at some of the strategies that you can use to pay down debt and get on the straight and narrow financially speaking so that you can get on and enjoy your life.
Tell Yourself Life Won’t Always Be Frugal
Paying down debt is annoying because, in order to do it, you have to live frugally. Every penny counts. But when it comes to debt, it is better to pay off more at the start than at the end. That’s because the interest that you pay depends on the amount of money outstanding. So if you owe $100,000, the interest you pay will be ten times as high as owing, say $10,000.
Being frugal doesn’t have to be something that you do forever. Eventually, you can break out of it and have a more enjoyable life. It’s just something you have to push through today.
Refinance Your Loans
Doctors who refinance medical school loans often find that they can make themselves better off. The same goes for dentists and other professionals with degree backgrounds.
But why? Well, it turns out that finance deals change over time. Sometimes they are expensive, and at other times, they are comparatively cheap. You can actually lower the cost of your borrowing long-term by choosing deals that allow you to keep more of the money you earn.
Cut Your Big Ticket Costs
Many people have aspirations to live in large properties that cost thousands of dollars per month to run. But these prevent you from paying down debt and building your net worth. The solution is to cut back and just buy the accommodation that you need. If you’re a single professional, for instance, it doesn’t make sense to purchase a family home.
Cut Up Your Credit Cards
Credit cards are a permanent source of temptation. That’s because you know that you can use them today to get the things that you want, transferring the financial pain of doing so to the future.
Needless to say, this isn’t a good strategy for paying down debt. In fact, it can add to the amount of money that you owe in a big way because interest rates on consumer credit are so high.
Find A Way To Generate A Side Income
If you’re locked into a conventional salary, paying down debt can be a challenge. Your employer simply isn’t providing you with a sufficiently high income. However, there are plenty of other ways that you can earn money in the short term, just to get you through your current financial situation.
For instance, today, many jobs allow you to work just on the weekends. So if you can find one of these, you might be able to boost your income by 25 percent.
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