Planning and discipline, your best allies

Have you been in debt at some point in your life?

Many are the people who at least once have had to face a financial crisis, either due to an unemployment problem, a health problem, or simply because they overspent and lost control of their debts, which now drown them.

According to a basic financial rule, the payment of your debts should not be more than 30% of your net income, since otherwise, you could fall into a situation of insolvency.

If you are in debt and this has become a situation that overwhelms you, produces stress, and takes away your sleep, do not despair because it is true that getting out of debt is not easy, but with discipline and planning, you can always overcome them. The most important thing is that you recognize that you are in a debt problem and do not wait for your accounts to be sent to a collection agency.

And it is that being in debt is not always bad, although it sounds strange, there is also good debt and it is one that you use to increase your wealth, for example: buying a house, remodeling your home (which gives it greater value), acquiring a car, etc.

It is clear that there is no universal plan to get out of debt and the strategy must be according to your particular situation, so at Proteja Su Dinero we want to make some recommendations for you to take the one that best suits you:

List your debts

Get out your bank statements and make a list of all your debts. Write the name of the card, the total balance of the debt, the interest rate, the minimum payment, and the due date. For this we can suggest two formats:

1. Put the debt with the highest balance first and then the rest in descending order. Concentrate your efforts on paying the highest debts, pay more than the minimum, and assign to the other accounts at least the minimum payment, do not stop making the monthly contributions to keep up to date.
2. Order them according to the highest interest rate. In this way, you will spend the most money to pay off the most expensive debt. Without a doubt, this is the best strategy in financial terms, since you will pay off the debt that generates the most interest first.

Make a budget

The first step to take control of your financial situation is to know how much money you spend, and then define the amount that you can allocate to pay your debts. Make a list with the total amount of your monthly income, then fixed expenses (rent, tuition, gas, electricity, telephone, etc.), and finally variable expenses (transportation, entertainment, clothing, shoes, etc.).

Establishing a detailed budget that accounts for all your expenses, no matter how small, will also allow you to determine where you can cut them. The most advisable thing is that you start by reducing unnecessary tastes and expenses, without this meaning that you will stop having a good time, it is not that you no longer spend, just that you do it in moderation. For example, you can reduce the number of times you go to the movies or eat, cancel pay-TV or reduce your mobile phone plan.

Pay more than the minimum

To get out of this complicated situation as soon as possible, you must allocate as much money as possible to pay your debts and it must be enough to cover the minimum payment and a little more.

Consolidate your debt

This option allows you to group your debts in a single account. Check which bank offers you the best conditions (CAT, lower interest rate, etc.) and ask them to transfer the balance of several credit cards to a single plastic, in addition to having greater control of your payments, this will allow you to save commissions yearly. Not all Financial Institutions offer this benefit, so ask the bank of your choice if it handles the program and under what conditions.

Save the cards

If your goal is to stop getting in debt, avoid continuing to use credit cards at all costs. Leave the plastics stored in a safe place, or if possible, destroy them to eradicate the temptation to use them and get used to doing all your purchases in cash.

Restructure your debt

Compared with consolidation, restructuring seems at first glance more advantageous, because the creditor institution can reduce the amount of your debt and even eliminate the interest generated by it. However, the negative side is that it will leave a bad record on your credit history, so it will always be better to pay off the total of your debts.

Request a fixed payment plan

This option allows you to “lower” the amount of the payment that you must make each month, the benefit is that the interest on the debt will no longer generate more interest. This facilitates the payment of the debt in a much shorter time than if you only made the minimum payments. Financial Institutions usually handle terms ranging from 6 to 60 months. It is important that once you establish this plan with your creditors you do not use your cards again, since otherwise, you will increase the amount of your debt and you could fall into a situation of insolvency again.

Make your card your best ally

If you know how to handle them, credit cards are one of the best credit options, since they allow you to finance yourself for up to 50 days without paying a peso of interest. In addition to this, they offer you some benefits such as generating points with which you can pay your annuity, obtain plane tickets or have travel insurance. Likewise, they allow you to domicile the payment of services, thus saving you the transfer to a branch.

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