Debt Management Strategies

Are you sick of your debt? Do you have the right strategies in place to whittle down your debt so that it is once again manageable?

Whether your debt is caused by overusing credit, unexpected medical expenses, losing your job, or spending an emotional credit card, controlling your debt is very important.

You might think that if you are well educated, your problems minimized. That is not true. Take the latest story from Oprah’s Make Me a Ten Makeover, and you will see why.

Tisa McGhee, 39, a single mother with two small children, has two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. With two degrees and a Ph.D., Tisa still has difficulty managing his debt. The high pressure of life led him to seek outside advice.

Even though Tisa has a job earning $ 76,000 per year, she starts having problems because of the adjusted interest rate for mortgages from 7.2 percent to 10 percent, car accidents when she doesn’t bring car insurance, increased student loans, divorce which results in excessive spending due to reasons emotional and finally lost his job in August 2009.

To help Tisa, Oprah sought advice from Michelle Singletary, a Washington Post financial columnist. Singletary said: It’s normal for smart people, just like Tisa, to make bad decisions and ultimately deal with a lot of problems: excessive debt, loss of jobs, expensive divorce at once.

There were two strategies developed as a recovery plan. Both short term and long term plans were suggested to get Tisa back on her feet. The ideas really can help anyone manage their debt better, so we will discuss these strategies in hopes of helping you get closer to your financial goals.

Debt Management – Short Term Plan

  1. Stick to a budget and find out where you can cut back expenses
  2. Stay on top of your mortgage payments
  3. Stop making extra debt payments while unemployed
  4. Get financial counseling from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling

Debt Management – Long Term Plan

  1. Stop using shopping as emotional therapy to make you feel better
  2. Save to buy a used car and pay cash for it
  3. Aggressively pay down debt
  4. Pay down student loans
  5. Build your business

According to Citigroup: Millions of Americans face the risk of seizure every year. If you encounter that problem, you can seek help through online personal financial advice about your debt management strategy.

Finding help to control your finances is not something to be ashamed of. If you need assistance, use available resources to get you back on track.

Each new day that we live we have to make the same types of decisions. You decide to eat based on what you feel is best for your body. You also select over and over again during just one day whether you can afford to spend your money on something you want or to reduce your debt.

If you use these strategies as faithfully as you regulate any other area of your life, you can enjoy long term prosperity.