Spend Less To Save More. It does not get any simpler than that. Make a list of every dollar you spend each month. Study the list and eliminate unnecessary expenses, or find a way to shave off a few dollars. If you can do away with an item on the list, you will save the full cost of that item. If you can find a cheaper substitute, you will save less, but pennies add up to dollars over time.
If you are spending more than you make each month, you might be tempted to borrow money in an effort to payoff some of your debt. Be careful. Find out how much you will be required to pay for the cost of credit. And find out how much you will pay for each and every fee.
Fees can include late or missed payments and returned checks during the life of the loan, but be careful of paying loan origination fees for the privilege of borrowing money. Fees are not free and are calculated into the cost of your loan. Most of all, make sure you can afford the monthly loan payment. You should ask yourself why you think you can afford a new payment when you cannot afford the existing payments.
If you are paying interest on your debt, you can minimize the cost of credit by paying off the highest interest debt first. You might be tempted to pay the lowest account, so that you owe fewer creditors. But the higher interest accounts will add more to your overall debt each month than the lower interest accounts.
If after tightening your expenses you still owe more money than you did last month, you are heading in the wrong direction. Unless you can increase your income, you will not be able to pay your debt you matter how hard you try.
You should consider filing chapter 7 bankruptcy to discharge your debts or chapter 13 bankruptcy to consolidate your debt.
