Ways to Reduce Debt

When you have financial turmoil within your marriage, you may be wondering what are some of the top ways to reduce debt that you can see immediately. I tell you this was an exercise that my husband and I did.

1) Stop using credit cards all together. Oh yea, I know this might be hard for some of you and I encourage you to think about it this way, if you are using a credit card that is not tied to your bank account what you are doing is incurring more debt. A bank credit/debit card the money is coming out right away. But a credit card that is not, means that you are charging something that will continue to have future payments until you pay it off.

2) Pay your credit card bills on time which means seven to ten days before they are due. This way you do not get hit with those late charges which could cause you to end up with overage charges.

3) Be conscious of when your charges on your bank card actually hit your account. Hint: They usually do not hit your account the day you charge it, as a matter of fact it can take several days. I have witnessed several people in the bank mad because when all the charges hit their account at once, it put them in overdraft situations. They were not notified by the bank and all those fees make it worse.

4) If you work outside of the home, brown bag the lunch. Adds up really fast. The money you save put it towards a debt.

5) Do not fall into the trap of consolidating debt and then re-charging up all the credit cards. Recipe for disaster.

6) Make a list when going to the mall or other retail outlet and stick with it. DO NOT apply for the credit card offers.

These are only some beginning ways to reduce debt.