The debtor's toolkit: 12 tactics to use for tackling debt
Posted
Jun 20 2008, 09:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.
Almost every day, people write to me with intimate details about their debt situations. Some of them are pretty mild and can be taken care of easily with a little bit of elbow grease. Others are horrifying and will take some very serious attention to manage.
In either situation, the principles for getting rid of debt are much the same. Similar tactics can be applied whether the debt is a $200 credit card balance or a mountain of $250,000 worth of various forms of debt.
Here are the 12 tactics I've used to conquer debt that I always recommend to others.
Know what you owe. Many people in a painful debt situation are oblivious to the true amount of their debts. They get bills, make the minimum payments, and try not to think about it.
That needs to stop. Take the last bill you received for every debt you owe. Sit down with those statements and figure out exactly how much you owe in total on each one and how much interest you're being charged. If you can't find this information, call the company holding your debt and ask for it.
This is key. You need to stare the full problem in the face instead of hiding it from yourself. If you keep hiding it, you keep convincing yourself it's not really a problem -- while those interest rates eat you alive. And they will. An average credit card with an 18.9% interest rate on a $1,000 balance over a year will cost you $189. Increase that balance and that timeframe and things get scary quick: A $10,000 balance on that card over two years costs you $3,760. Compare that with what you make.
Sit down, look at the problem, and realize that it needs to be solved. That's the first step.
Figure out a plan. The first step for solving it is to figure out a debt-repayment plan. I've written in detail about building your own debt-repayment plan. I know of two sensible methods.
The first one is the Dave Ramsey "snowball" method: You list your debts with the smallest debt first and focus on paying them off in that order. This has the psychological benefit of giving you a sense of success over debt much quicker, and that positive rush will push you onward to more debt repayment.
The other one is the one I prefer -- the interest-based method. You list all of your debts in order of interest rate, with the largest interest rate on top. This is mathematically the best route to go, but it doesn't have quite the psychological push that Ramsey's plan has.
Either way, you not only need to know what all of your debts are, but you also need to figure out the relative priority of the debts. Once you know that, you have a plan -- and now it's time to execute that plan.
Get caught up. If you're late on any of your payments, make the minimum payments on all of your debts until you're caught up. Without at least some history of regular payments, it's very hard to talk to creditors and have them sympathize with your cause, and it's impossible to have a strong credit rating (which helps you on your other bills).
Negotiate. If you're fully caught up on your debts, try negotiation, especially with credit card companies. Call up the number on the back of your card and ask for a lower interest rate. Suggest that you're considering moving the balance with a 0% interest balance-transfer offer. If the first person says no, ask to talk to a supervisor.
You won't always have success with this method, but any success you do have will pay serious dividends for you. If you have a $10,000 balance and you get the interest rate reduced by even 3 percentage points, that's a savings of $300 a year. Applying that extra $300 a year to the balance ($25 a month) can save you as much as $7,000 in reduced finance charges, according to the credit card repayment calculator.
Consolidate. Another method is to actually combine your debts through consolidation. There are many options for consolidation -- 0% balance transfers on credit cards, student loan consolidations, home-equity loans and personal loans are among the most common.
The first thing you need to know is whether you have good credit. Check out your true free credit report at annualcreditreport.com (since freecreditreport.com is a rip-off) and make sure everything is correct on there. Also make sure you have a history of paying your bills on time. If you've done both, your credit should be solid.
Balance transfers with 0% interest are a solid way to consolidate your credit card debt and reduce interest rates for a while. Most balance-transfer offers retain that low rate for only a short period of time (18 months is common), so you should only transfer your debt with the highest interest to it.
Another option is to hit your local credit union and see what options are available to you. Many times, if you've been paying your debts consistently and have solid credit, you can apply for a personal loan to help you whack through your outstanding debt. Often, personal loans have solid but not stellar interest rates -- good enough to wipe out credit card debt and other consumer debt, but that's about all.
If you own your home, a home-equity line of credit is yet another option. This is often a lower interest rate debt that you can use to consolidate almost everything that has a higher interest rate.
All of these options will change your debt-repayment plan, causing some debts to move up on your list and others to move down. Adjust accordingly so that you're sure you're tackling the right debt with your extra payments.
Get some inspiration. Debt repayment is a long, slow process and, without some sort of inspiration, it can be very hard to keep it up over the long haul. My suggestion is to find some inspiration -- something you can visualize and think about when you're repaying your debts. Why are you doing this? The answer to that question should point you right toward your inspiration.
My inspiration is and always has been my children -- my son and, later, my daughter, too. They show me that there's an awfully big future ahead. They show me that the choices I make now have a lot of ramifications down the road. They show me what unconditional love is -- and that stuff is just waste in comparison.
I keep my credit card wrapped in a picture of them, just so I can remember this when I'm about to spend some money.
Don't rack up more debt; have an emergency fund first. Now that you've got a good debt-repayment plan, and you're inspired and ready to go, it's tempting to go full out on debt repayment and knock those numbers down. There's only one problem: What will you do if your car blows up tomorrow? What happens if you lose your job?
If you really want that debt to disappear, you need to protect yourself against these events first, at least a little. The way to do that is with an emergency fund -- basically, cash sitting in a savings account to help you through those tough times.
I recommend having at least a month's worth of living expenses in there before you start going hardcore with debt repayment. This money can be used for stuff like car repairs, unexpected big bills, and so forth. It keeps you from having to go back into debt when something like that comes along. It's better to have even more than that. When your situation gets under control, you may want to pump up your emergency fund.
Make minimum payments on your debts at first and build up your emergency fund. I use ING Direct for that purpose. They're my primary bank, but they let you set up multiple savings accounts with just a few clicks. Make one of them your emergency fund.
Automate your minimum payments. Online bill pay is one of the most powerful tools we have for battling debt. Most banks now offer this amazing service, which basically cuts down on the time you have to spend paying bills and has a few other perks as well. It's become an essential part of my toolbox.
One big perk is that you can schedule payments. Automatic scheduling of payments is a great way to make sure you're never late with a bill again. Just schedule a certain amount to be paid each month well in advance of the bill's due date. For bills with variable amounts, like credit cards, use an amount that's higher than the minimum payment, but not overly so.
Each month, you'll know that your minimum payments are covered. Your goal then is to make a big extra payment toward whichever debt you're focusing on in your debt-repayment plan, every single month. The next few tactics will help you do just that.
Trim away some fat. Look at the ways you spend money each month and look for things you can easily trim. A great place to look are the monthly bills -- can you trim whole services, like Netflix, or perhaps just pieces of services, like unlimited text messaging? -- and also the things you do during your daily routine, like drinking a latte.
One nice place to start is with your energy costs. Installing a programmable thermostat or some LED or CFL light bulbs can easily lower your home energy costs. Making your next car purchase a fuel-efficient one will lower you automobile energy costs.
The key here is that when you've saved some money, don't spend it. Instead, channel that amount into an extra debt payment each month. Let's say you eliminate a $4 latte per week. That means your extra debt payment each month should go up $16. Canceled that premium movie channel? Your extra debt payment should go up $15. Installed 25 CFLs? Your extra debt payment should go up about $10. These add up.
Snowflake. Snowflaking is a brilliant little tactic I first heard about over at the I've Paid For This Twice Already blog. The idea is simple: Whenever you have a little windfall or make a good frugal choice, immediately save it for an extra debt repayment. I found that one of those "extra" savings accounts at ING Direct works really well for this. Whenever I save a little money or have a little windfall, I move that amount from my checking over to the snowflaking account. At the end of the month, I use that snowflaking account as an extra debt payment.
Here's an example. Let's say that I normally eat out for lunch three times a week, but one day I decide instead to eat leftovers, eliminating one of those meals eaten out. I immediately move the $8 cost of lunch from my checking account to my snowflaking account. Similarly, let's say I find a $20 bill on the street. Instead of spending it on silly stuff, I go home and move $20 from my checking to my savings, then use the $20 for something worthwhile, like groceries. Recently, I found a coupon for 10% off a complete order at Target. We stocked up and saved about $24 -- that money was snowflaked. At the end of the month, there's $52 that I can use to help knock out debt.
Watch your progress. Each month, it's worth your while to take a tally of all of your debts and look at where things are. Over time, you'll begin to see real progress. Many personal-finance books recommend charting this progress -- noting your debt total each month -- so that you can watch the change.
Why do this? It's a big psychological boost to see your debt heading in the right direction, instead of in the wrong direction. At first, I even used a large progress bar to visualize it, going from $17,000 in credit card debt down to $0. Each month, as that balance went down, I filled in a portion of that bar. It felt good to do that -- really good.
Don't let up. When your debt starts going down, it's easy to start feeling like things are under control, and you'll become tempted to throttle back on the savings. "I don't need to make that extra debt payment. Things are good now!" That's a false belief. It's that very belief that got you into trouble in the first place.
Remember, every time you feel that you don't need to pay down your debt, you're reverting to the mind-set that got you in trouble to begin with. Keep that in mind, always, and don't let up. Debt freedom is a wonderful state to be in.
Other articles of interest at The Simple Dollar:
Got credit card debt? 10 tactics to use right now to get it under control
Investing vs. paying ahead on your mortgage: Which makes more sense?
7 tips for avoiding boredom during a financial turnaround
