Double Downer: Why Debt Doesn’t Have To Be Burden

The words “debt” and “burden” go hand in hand because the latter word easily is the best way to describe how you feel when you’re swimming in the former.

But as bad as being in debt feels, trying to pay off credit card bills, car payments and anything else that is putting you in the red personally, you don’t have to continue to suffer from massive amounts of money you owe.

This isn’t about a quick fix or hoping that you win the lottery, but rather admittance that you have too much debt and working quickly to figure out how to head in the opposite direction.

The only secret isn’t much of one: have a plan.

Budgeting and creating a financial plan when it comes to debt is the only way you’re going to get out of it (unless of course, you consolidate, a real crushing blow to your credit or file for bankruptcy, which you want to avoid).

The budget allows you to examine what you’re spending money on, and of course adjust accordingly. All of this is part of a larger financial plan to pay off debt.

The budget and inverted pyramid routine to pay off debt (more on that in a second) are the best one, two punch you could hope for as far as getting back into the black.

Budgeting makes you take a long, hard look at the fact, in most cases, you spend more than you make, leaving no money to be saved. The budget also allows you to determine how you want to cut back, as far as what to eliminate on your spending, and then ultimately taking the leftover and putting it toward debt.

Here’s the key: as much as you want to take that extra money and spend it (which is what got you into trouble to start with), you’re going to want to take it and put it toward the lowest balance of debt you have. Once you get that lowest balance paid off, you’ll take what you’re spending on that bill (now that it’s no more) and put it toward the next highest balance you have, in addition to what you’ve been paying on that balance as well.

This inverted pyramid style allows you to show progress, starting from small to large and reallocate the money you’re saving on your better, revamped budget and start paying down debt.

Budgeting and understanding what to do with newly acquired extra money is the key to battling back against debt and taking away that so-called burden and breaking free from the financial stress and pains of that massive amount of money owed hanging over you.