Clear debt and debt reduction advice is available from many places. In the current economic climate, it seems as though everyone is suffering with financial problems, and so the information is more readily available than ever before.
What can you do today to help clear your debts?
1 Budgeting - By accounting for every penny and pound, you'll know exactly where your money is going. Don't forget to budget for essentials such food, clothes, fuel and items your children might need.
2 Reduce Spending - Once you've written your budget you will be able to see where you can make savings. Do you really need to get your newspapers delivered? Could using public transport be cheaper than using the car and paying for the car park? What about walking or cycling those shorter distances?
3 Credit and Store Cards - Don't use credit and store card except in an emergency. By not carrying them with you, you won't be tempted to use them, and get further into debt. Also, the interest rate for getting cash out is usually much higher than the standard interest rate for the store or credit card.
4 Economise - Look at cutting down on the luxury goods and non-essentials that you buy each month. Instead of going to the cinema every week, why not go once a month, or watch some of your own DVDs for a change. Perhaps a quiet night in at the weekend will be much cheaper than a night at the pub, or on the town.
5 In the Supermarket - By dropping a brand, or choosing own-brand products, you can save a considerable amount of money. You will then be able to afford the products that you absolutely can't economise on, without feeling too guilty.
6 Debt Problems - If you are having problems paying off your debts, contact your creditors straight away, and they may be able to help you. The longer you leave it, or the more payments you miss, the worse it will be for you. If you need help sorting out your finances, you should seek help, before it is too late.
7 Credit Card Balance - By paying the balance off your store or credit card balance monthly, or paying more than just the minimum amount, this will help to reduce the length of time it takes to pay off the debt, and reduce the amount of interest paid too.
8 Unfair Credit Agreements - Under the 1974 Consumer Credit Agreement, any sort of finance agreement must be drawn up properly, otherwise it is not legally binding, and the consumer doesn't have to pay off the amount of credit owed. It has come to light that many credit agreements have not been drawn up properly and so are unfair, and unenforceable. If you have any loans, vehicle finance or credit and store cards, you may want to have your credit agreements investigated.
9 Unfair Bank Charges - There has been much media attention to Unfair Bank Charges. These are the amounts charged for being overdrawn or for a bounced cheque and so on. In a similar way to Unenforceable Credit Agreements, Unfair Bank Charges can also be reclaimed.
10 Payment Protection Insurance - Payment Protection Insurance may have been sold to you as part of a credit agreement. Many of these insurance policies have been mis-sold, and so you could get your payments back.
Now you know how you can clear debt with a bit of forward planning, and careful budgeting, isn't it time you reduced your debts?
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