If you’re looking to get out of debt, here are some tips to do so as quickly as possible. Sometimes it is possible to blast your debt into oblivion, you just have to know what to do.
1. Sell stuff you owe money on.
Have a car payment? Sell the car. You might not get what you owe on it, but you’re sure to blast a big chunk out of your debt. Still need transportation? Buy a reliable $2,000 or $3,000 car to get you by. There’s no reason to have a car payment. Can you imagine how much money you’re missing out on by making a car payment when you could be taking that money and throwing it in your Roth IRA? You don’t even want to know!
Cars aren’t the only things you can sell. What about your HOUSE?!?! If you owe money on your house, and you’ve already determined you probably should be renting anyway for a short period of time (due to a potential work transfer or other reason), why not take that plunge now? Take some time to make this decision, but once you’ve considered all the variables, you might find it’s the best decision for you at this time.
Selling stuff you owe money on is probably the best way to blast your debt into oblivion. Sometimes this is possible, sometimes it’s not. For those times it’s not, proceed with some of these other ideas . . . .
2. Negotiate down your debt.
Listen, you’re obligated to pay your debts. After all, you promised to pay them. But sometimes, when there’s no mathematical way you can pay them, negotiating down your debt might be your only way to avoid bankruptcy.
But before you even do that, see if you can get on a payment plan. Some lenders will understand your hardship and will work with you to make sure you can pay the whole amount.
If you’ve been late on your bills for several months due to true hardships, negotiation might work.
As always, make sure before you send creditors any money you get in writing what they are willing to accept for “payment in full.” And whatever you do, don’t give them electronic access to your checking account.
Negotiation can be a powerful tool to help you blast your debt away. But use it with discretion, and only when you must.
3. Combine several tactics at once for rapid progress.
Sometimes one isn’t enough. If you have a lot of debt and want to make rapid progress, and negotiating or selling assets isn’t really feasible, try combining the following tips to blast some serious debt out of the water.
- Make a budget.
- Use the debt snowball.
- Track your debt using ReadyForZero.
- Cut up your credit cards.
- Switch to a cash back debit card as an alternative.
What other ideas do you have to blast your debt into oblivion? Leave a comment!
