Debt Reduction Strategies To Live By
Date: 7 Apr 2010 Comments:0Realization is always the first step when solving problems. If you do not recognize the fact that there is a problem then you are no closer to getting that debt reduced no matter what you do. You may not be in as much debt now but if your spending pattern points to that direction then it would be best for you and your family if you already take the necessary steps to prevent it from becoming a full-blown concern later on. You can easily gauge whether you need to start getting into debt reduction strategies already or not by going through the motions of the strategy on paper. If your paper analysis indicates a red mark from the beginning then that means debt reduction strategies are needed now.
Having a Budget
If you work in a company, whether large or small-scale, you know how important a budget is. This concept also applies to the home and even more so. Companies follow rules and regulations to properly function especially when it comes to financial decisions. At home, the spending rules are a little more lenient but there should still be rules and rules are useless if there is no plan. Ideally, a budget should be drafted by all interested parties, that is, those who bring income into the household. These individuals should have an idea of how money is spent. There are households, however, where only one person holds the purse and this is fine as long as there is agreement. Without an agreement, in all likelihood, the budget will not hold water.
The budget starts with computing for total household income. To simplify matters, you can use net take home pay. For intellectuals who are adept at accounting, total household income can be gross pay and you can just include taxes and other deductibles in the expenses computation. The next figure to compute is expenses and this is where you have to sweat it since this is where the problem originated. List down everything you spend on including regular installment or monthly payments that you make. Debt reduction strategies start from reducing this amount so that the resulting difference between your total household income and your total household expenditures will be used to repay your debt as much as you can. The bigger the disposable income (or this difference) the bigger your payment against the debt can be, the faster you can reduce that debt. You can use weekly, bi-monthly, semiannually or yearly figures for your budget depending on what is most appropriate for your household.
Monitoring and Adhering
Monitoring and adhering to this budget is the next step in debt reduction strategies. Monitoring the expenses is the responsibility of the appointed bookkeeper of the household but adhering to the budget is everyone’s responsibility. The appointed bookkeeper should work like an accountant in a firm and list down all expenses on a regular basis. He should ring a bell when expenses are nearing the tolerance level against the agreed budget. Stick to the budget like glue or the debt reduction strategies will not work. A little over the budget here and a little over the budget there will result in a bigger and bigger deficit over time and this is not a good idea at all. It will mean lesser and lesser disposable income.
A Garage Sale
Debt reduction strategies should also include the possibility of a garage sale of sorts. If there are assets that you can sell, sell them now and use the proceeds to reduce that debt as soon as you can. So many people have too much stuff most of the time without them being aware of it. Most people also have an aversion to parting with some of their stuff because of so many reasons. Think of it this way, that item you so desperately want to keep but do not use may actually save you from getting your car or your house taken away from you. So, which would you rather keep?
Pay More
Another step among debt reduction strategies you can do is to pay more. You probably incurred debt from several sources that have varying interest rates and payment periods. List down these debts and prioritize them from highest interest rates to lowest. As much as you can, pay more than the minimum amount on your debts starting with the top debt on your priority list. If you do this monthly until the time that this debt gets off the list, you will be able to scratch off more on the list faster because they will amount to less and less interest payment debts.
Restructure
Include restructuring mortgage payments in your debt reduction strategies. By making twice a month mortgage payments on your mortgage debt, you are effectively lowering the interest payments you need to make and shortening the life of the mortgage thus reducing debt faster. Of course, this will only apply if you have this type of loan. If you do not have this type of loan then good for you!
Last Option
As a last option of debt reduction strategies, you can choose to transfer the balances of your credit cards to a single card that offers lower or zero interest rates. This is a credit debt reduction solution. Let go of all your other credit cards. The reason why this option is last is because there is a down side to this compared to other debt reduction strategies. The good side is you have lesser temptations because you do not have as many credit lines anymore. The bad side is whether or not another credit card company will give you the credit line if you have bad credit already. If they do, then well and good but watch out for hidden fees such as undeclared transfer fees, exorbitant penalties and the like.
If you have exhausted all these options and are still knee deep in debt, then it is probably time to approach a debt reduction management or a non profit debt reduction company for counseling and advice.

http://gopleader.gov House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after House Democrats rejected a GOP motion-to-recommit that would have amended Democrats financial regulatory legislation (H.R. 4173) to shut down the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and require that TARP funds be used to pay down the national debt:
http://www.danijohnson.com/warondebt/homestudyprogram.php