Our lives become steadily more expensive while what we earn doesn’t necessarily keep up the pace. It is not always necessarily our fault and is not always a result of personal mismanagement of funds, though this does play a significant role. Quite honestly the reality of everything going up in price is something that takes a huge chunk out of our budgets. Fuel prices affect us directly through our own fuel consumption but also indirectly through driving commodity prices up too. The cost of water and electricity climbs as well as municipal rates and levies and while salaries may, if you’re fortunate enough, increase with inflation, but does it consider all these aspects of inflation? Often real ‘felt’ inflation is far greater than what is considered the country’s official inflation rate. So, what does one do when they find themselves spiraling down a debt vortex? When you are struggling to pull yourself out of debt, yet you keep getting sucked further and further into it, how do you break free of the vicious debt cycle?
Consider professional debt recovery support
Try debt recovery Australia as a starting point to the debt recovery process and to help you with your debt management. There are professionals who will help you understand your debt situation and offer guidance and advice on what actions to take to recover. It is not an immediate fix, but it will help considerably.
Consolidate your accounts that are in debt
Combine all your debt into one single debt facility. Banks and other debt management services can offer you better interest rates on consolidated debt. You can also negotiate better payment terms and a longer repayment period. Consolidating your debt also helps give you a solid figure to work with. If your debt is spread throughout several accounts, it is hard to know exactly how much you owe.
Get a good grip on your expenses
Track your expenses monthly, after only a month you will have a better idea of where your money is going and where it could be managed better. Often, we lose money on silly things, fast food is a classic place where we don’t think about what we spend, and we justify it because we are busy and, on the run, – yet all those many quick bites to eat add up considerably.
Set recovery goals and then track it
Don’t make your debt recovery goal so big that it feels impossible. Start small with reasonable financegoals and celebrate achieving them regardless of how small it is. Progress is progress. If you have a detailed budget, then you can set micro-goals with certain budget line items, such as the fast-food example. You could be a sucker for buying books, especially online which is only one click away from being purchased. But second-hand book stores are an incredible place to find cheap books, many of the books look almost brand new. Going to the library is a great alternative too and it means you aren’t left with a huge pile of books that you won’t read again.