Nobody likes being in debt. However little you owe, it still means your repayments are taking up a portion of your income every month, leaving you with less to spend on the things you actually like spending money on!
So here's a short list of 'top tips'. Just a few ways of managing debt that could help you repay what you owe sooner than you thought you would - so your income can be your income once more. For more debt management advice this site could help.
1) Coping with Credit Cards
Making small monthly payments might sound tempting, but how fast are they actually reducing your debt? Check out an online calculator to find out - but be prepared for a shock!
However much you're paying towards your credit card per month, could you afford to double it, or even triple it? It might not be easy, but this could make a huge difference to the speed at which you're clearing your debt, and to the overall amount of interest you'll have paid by the time you do that.
2) Dealing with Debt Habits
Do you have any debt habits? Do you, for example, use your overdraft to 'borrow' from next month's salary once you've run through this month's?
This is a 'classic' way of getting deeper and deeper into debt without really realising it - your overdraft just keeps on getting slightly higher and higher every month as you spend more than you're repaying.
That's just one example, of course. We all have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to dealing with money. The trick is to identify yours and make sure you rein in your bad habits before they cause you any real problems.
3) Budgeting Better
How can you control your money if you don't know where it's going? If you're not sticking to a budget, you probably should be! Drawing up a list of your income and expenditure can help you pinpoint exactly where (if anywhere) you're going wrong - if you're spending more than you should on non-essentials, for instance.
And if you've already done this, remember there's little point writing down all the numbers if you're not making the necessary changes to your money management. Drawing up a budget isn't enough on its own - you also have to stick to it!
