Step one: “Make the Decision”
Today I decided that I’m going to be debt free before my "BIG" birthday on June 7, 2021!! I've been debt free before with 12 months of emergency fund in the bank. But it was done with a large some of money, so I didn't feel the pain of sacrificing to get out of debt. Since I didn't win the lottery (or play) I will have to get out of debt the old fashion way, with budgeting, watching my every penny, sacrificing and finding extra money, for 2 year and 8 months.
Can you just imagine not having any bills other than your living expenses {mortgage, electric, internet, etc..} Well I can and I will!!
So follow my financial journey and maybe do the same by following what I'm doing.
First: "Figure out the DEBT"
I purchased a plain page book to use as my “Money Book” to help me come up with my plan. This book was purchased at Home Goods for $4.99 (keep it cheap and simple)
Figure out how much debt you have. Debt is credit cards, car loans, student loans, family/friend loans, judgments, collections etc.. [Don't include your mortgage but "DO" include a HELOC or any loan against your home]
To help me figure out who I owed and how much I owed, I used www.annualcreditreport.com and get copies of your credit reports from all 3 reporting agency’s. { Transunion, Experian, and Equifax }
Annual Credit Report is a FREE online website that will give you 2 FREE credit reports a year (you have to pay for your score)
Look over all 3 reports and write down all of your debts. Then write them down from the lowest to the highest. Don’t focus on the interest rates unless 2 debts are the same amounts.
Add up all of the amounts and think about how in many months you would like to be "DEBT FREE" ( Be realistic, if you have $50k in debt and make $30k a year. Don’t say 12 months unless you have secret money somewhere.)
Once you figure out when you would like to be "DEBT FREE", divide that number by your total debt amount. That will give you the monthly amount you will need to put towards you debt. If the monthly amount is not a realistic amount, change the date to add more months until you come up with an amount you can afford.
"With all of the technology we use on a daily basis, there's nothing better than doing things the old way, like putting pen to paper. When you write things down it becomes a written contract between you and yourself."
Make the decision to start.. then take a few days to get this step done!
XOXO
Share Allen REALTOR®
Disclamer:
I'm not claiming to be a financial expert, I'm just using the information that I've learned over the years to help myself and hopefully others to get out of debt. So if you find that I have missed something or you would like to add something, please leave a comment. Thanks