Debit Consolidation

Debit Consolidation

Archive for the ‘Advice for Consolidating Debits’


Budgeting for your Debit Consolidation Program

Published November 13th, 2008 in Advice for Consolidating Debits | 1 Comment »

The willingness to change your lifestyle and spending habits is vital before getting a debit consolidation loan, but it’s not something you should fear. You have to understand that you can’t continue to live as you are anyway, so it either has to come to a controlled ending or crash and burn a little farther down the line. I’m going to move forward with this series of articles assuming that you’ve made the right choice, and are dedicated to living within your means.

Now that the switch is flipped and you’re no longer buying everything you see, you need to take a deep breath, sit down, and take stock of everything that you owe, what your minimum monthly payments are, and what your monthly bills add up to. This is important, because it gives you the minimum amount of income that you need to meet your minimum monthly payments and your essential services like utilities, rent, gas, and so on. It will also eventually tell you the size of the debit consolidation loan that you need. Some things, though, are not all that easy to budget for. Your utility bill fan fluctuate drastically from season to season, with your electric bill going down and you gas bill going up in the winter.

All I can say is, you need to take your best guess at it. Obviously budgeting for gas isn’t an exact science, as gas prices fluctuate wildly as can the number of miles that you drive in a week. But, if you really hold your feet to the fire, look at your past payments, and figure out a good average, you’ll be in good shape. Obviously your gas budget will tell you whether or not you can take a road trip down the coast or not this weekend and big things like that, but there needs to be some flexibility to meet higher than expected demand in different areas.

Debit Consolidation and Mental Readiness

Published November 13th, 2008 in Advice for Consolidating Debits | 1 Comment »

You’re probably asking yourself, what’s the point of a debit consolidation loan, then? Well, there is a point, and that’s what we’re going to get into in this article series, but first we need to set expectations. I have found over and over again, that if people enter into the world of beating back their debit and living on what they make with the wrong expectations they will fail. Paying off debits is as much about attitude as it is about math and hard work. You need both. If you work hard but don’t have the right mindset, you will invariably fail. If you have the right mindset but your work ethic is poor, you’ll end up in the same boat.

The right mindset for a debit consolidation loan starts with deciding once and for all that you’re going to live within your means. And that must translate into a willingness to do whatever it takes to get there, including selling your house, your cars, canceling your $100 a month cable package, high speed internet, and never eating out again. Sadly, these changes are shocking and unthinkable to many people, and they’re not willing to commit. Most of the time it’s out of fear of the unknown or a fear of change. There’s nothing wrong with being afraid, but remember, there are billions of people all over the world that live with much less than you do, and chances are they’re happier.

Think about a life with basic cable and dial up internet. Now imagine it without the gnawing feeling that you have in your stomach when you think about paying your next bill, or where your next mortgage payment is going to come from, or how much time you have left on that no interest for 12 months deal you bought a TV with that you couldn’t afford. The bottom line is that if you don’t have to constantly worry about money, you will be much, much happier. You’ll sleep better at night, and you’ll be able to afford debit consolidation. You won’t worry about keeping up with your friends or neighbors, because you’ll know that they wake up every day wondering the same things that you used to, and it tears them up.