Budget to Get Out of Debt Fast
By Shane Flait ©2010

Debt is a recurring expense against your income for what you bought previously. Paying this and its interest charges is an expense that eats up current income that you could use for savings or more important alternatives.

Is paying this recurring expense along with the loss of benefits from your current income really worth what you bought?  If it isn’t then you have unnecessary and debilitating debt expenses and you need to get out of it. This article shows you how.

The last thing you need is debilitating debt as you approach or begin retirement. You’ll need all the income you have to use for important expenses that are worth it or for savings to add to.  A budget can set you free to enjoy your full income.

Creating and using a budget is a valuable tool to get you out of debt and help maximize savings programs. Many people find that just looking at aggregate figures for discretionary spending spurs them to reduce excessive spending. If you knew how much that debt interest amounted to every year, you’d get out of debt fast.

Goals can include identifying expenses that can be reduced or cut (such as entertainment and shopping), as well as minimized - such as any interest paid on credit cards and home equity line of credit. Unnecessary interest costs eat away available income.

Determine the amount of discretionary income you can use to allocate to debt reduction

Take a typical month's worth of income and spending data to determine your discretionary income. This is your total month's income minus your necessary expenses. Necessary living expenses include rent/mortgage, food, clothing, utilities, education, and possible auto payments. Don’t include amounts that you send to credit card companies or repay on consumer loans.

You’ll use your discretionary income to pay down these consumer debt expenses as fast as you can. Some debt, such as car financing, comes with specific repayment schedules, but rolling debt instruments like credit cards can generally be paid off according to one's personal ability to pay.

If you have any liquid savings, you may use some of that to help out. It's much better to pay the credit cards off first and then budget some money for taxable investment accounts. That’s because most credit cards charge between 5% and 30% interest annually which sometimes outpaces what the average investor can expect to earn from stocks, bonds or funds.

Leave yourself a little discretionary income to celebrate how much your reducing debt is freeing your income for better things to come.  

 

 Shane Flait is a writer and educator. Get more info at www.EasyRetirementKnowHow.com