How To Win The War On Debt

Debt - being in debt - is a very bad place to be indeed. For anyone struggling to get themselves out of debt, it is a long, hard road to travel.

However there are some steps you can take to get you started to living a debt-free life.

Debt and getting out of debt is more about emotions than it is finances. I know that seems like an odd thing to say, but if you are in debt and you think about getting out of debt, you will have some strong thoughts and even physical symptoms along with that thought.

So - you ask - how do you overcome the emotion and the physical reactions? Try starting slow. Look at your income and your expenses. Is there any place in your budget you could cut - even a little amount a week? For instance, could you cut out the coffee from the coffee shop on your way to work? Could you make coffee at home and take it with you in a travel mug? This one small step could save $20 to $25 a week that you could pay toward your debt.

It may not be coffee, but if you can save $25 a week somewhere in your budget, put that extra money toward your smallest debt. Whatever bill you are paying a minimum payment on (and make it the one with the smallest balance), put all the extra toward that bill. While you are paying off that debt, do not add anymore to the balance! Just keep adding more to the amount you are paying on the balance.

Soon you will have that bill paid off and you can move on to the next one. Continue paying the minimum payment on all your other debt so you don't fall behind on any of them.