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There are a lot of things that deserve your energy but paying off debt isn’t one of them. If you have debt, it can feel hopeless. But you can get out of debt, and it’s easier than you think. We can show you how to be lazy and pay off your debt.
An All-Time Record
If you have debt, you’re not alone.
Total household debt—a category that includes mortgages, student loans, and car loans along with credit card and other debt—dipped in the wake of the Great Recession, but it has since steadily rebounded in the years since.
Overall, Americans’ debt hit a new high of $13 trillion last year, surpassing the previous record set in 2008 by $280 billion, according to the New York Fed.”
Not all debt is the same. Mortgage debt, for instance, is typically low-interest debt and a home can be an investment. It’s the other kinds of debt, credit cards, student loans, that can hinder all of your long-term financial goals.
So let’s tackle that kind of debt once and for all, and be lazy while we do it.
Paying off debt is a process
Paying off debt is a process, and there are several steps. These steps can take a while to accomplish.
You didn’t accumulate this debt overnight, and you’re not going to pay it overnight.
Face the Music
It’s terrifying to sit down and total up just how much debt you’re in, but that is the first step if you want to pay off your debt. Make a list of all of your outstanding debts and the interest rate on each. The best way to see all of your debt is in your Credit Karma account.
Not only will you see all of the debts but you’ll be able to see your credit report and credit score too. It’s free to make an account so do that now if you don’t already have one.
Go through your credit report and make sure all of the listed debts are legitimate. There are a variety of reasons debts that aren’t your’s can end up on a report. If you find debts that are not your’s, you can dispute them.
Consult Your Budget
What’s that? Don’t you have a budget? Well, go to Personal Captial and get a good overall picture of your finances and your spending.
How much money do you have coming in compared to how much is going out?
Do you have any money that isn’t going out?
Your budget is going to identify the cash you can use to pay off your debt. You should be dedicating at least 20% of your income to paying off your debt.
Once you have a month’s worth of budget data, go through it with a fine-toothed comb. Where are your spending leaks?
Saving money is easier than making more money, so if you want to be lazy and pay off your debt, this is the best place to do it, by cutting your budget.
Let Trim find and cancel expenses like gym memberships you don’t use and subscription services you can’t afford when you have debt to pay off.
Let Billshark negotiate better rates for things like your cable and internet service. Every dollar you save is an extra dollar you have to pay off your debt more quickly.
Triage the Damage
Are you behind on any payments but not so far behind that...
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