Paying off your credit card debt quickly by falling prey to a debt settlement scam is often disastrous to your financial health. By receiving credit counseling, you learn about the best ways to accelerate the debt payoff process without jeopardizing your credit score. According to a recent article by thestreet.com, a new study out of Texas A&M shows people who take small steps and set reachable goals are more likely to become free of debt. When you talk to a trained credit counselor, you don’t get caught up with frustrating ways of handling debt or embarrassing solutions such as bankruptcy. Many people love the fact that their credit counseling sessions remain confidential. Because taking small steps lead to the best results, consider some of the ways to overcome a slow climb out of credit card debt.
Setting Reachable Financial Goals
Whether called reachable or realistic, your short-term goals provide the traction needed for the longer term goals. Some reachable financial goals include enrolling in a debt consolidation program. By meeting your small short-term goal of paying the monthly debt repayment plan amount, you get closer and closer to your loftier goal of a debt-free life. Experts say goals are measurable, realistic, specific, actionable and time-sensitive.
Aligning Budget with Income
Another small step you can take is to come up with a more reasonable budget that is not based on the income you wish you had but on actual income. Aligning your budget with your income is trickier if you receive commission checks, work on speculation or freelance. Independent contractors who receive variable income each week should wait until they receive their money and then revise a budget based on the actual income instead of projected income.
Stopping the Urge to Spend
While consolidating credit card debt is important, it’s only part of the solution. With credit counseling, you learn how to avoid the spending temptation as you pay down your debt. You can get out of debt 80 percent faster with some credit counseling services, but you need to create a stable financial foundation before using credit cards again. Once you are out of debt, the goal is to charge only what you can pay off in full each month.
Once you decide to get out of debt, you don’t want it to take an eternity. At Christian Credit Counselors, we help people overcome the urge to backslide into credit card debt as they make small steps to pay off their credit card debt.
Do you want to know more about debt and how you can make smart financial decisions now that will help you secure a more prosperous financial future? Sign up for our newsletter for monthly money tips.
