have to be paid. Everyone should learn how to manage debt intelligently. It’s better not to accrue debt and try to make monthly repayments in small amount. Jayhawk Advisors, one of the best financial advisors have shared some few tips you can follow to manage debt of any size.
- Make timely payments each month
If you pay monthly bills on time, you don’t have to pay interest or late fee. You can set a reminder on your phone or mark on the calendar so that you don’t forget the date of repayment. In spite of this if you miss the due date, don’t wait until the next due date and try to pay as soon as possible.
- Make a monthly bill payment calendar
Write each bill’s payment amount next to its due date on the calendar. Make a habit of doing this every month and also fill in the date of each paycheck. This actually helps you to budget your pay cheques in a better way because you are pre-decided on which bill to pay and when to pay. Also you can budget your spending each month.
- Make at least a minimum amount of payment
If you’re unable to pay the full amount, try to make the minimum payment. This will help in lowering your debt i.e. your debt will not grow. Paying a large amount at once is often difficult.
- List your debts
Prepare a list of all your debts by including your creditors, monthly payment obligations, due date, etc. Take the help of your credit report to confirm the total amount of debt on your list. This way you’ll get a clear picture of your total debt and you can refer to it periodically, as you pay off your bills. Don’t forget to update the list as you pay the bill.
- Decide on debts you want to pay off first
It’s better to pay off credit card debt first. The interest rates of credit card debts are quite high. And out of all these, the card with the highest interest rate should be prioritized since it’s costing you the most. You can take the help of the debt list you had prepared. Put your debts in the order you want to pay off.
- Keep liquid savings
It is advisable to always keep some liquid cash in the form of savings. Sometimes your financial assets and liabilities don’t match, and then you think of using these liquid savings. However, try to immediately rebuild the liquid savings if you use them. Always try to maximize your savings. Never do expenses at the cost of your retirement savings. Keep adequate funds in savings account so that it grows overtime.
- Check out the interest rate risk
Debts accrue when we borrow money for different reasons like education, marriage purpose, personal loan, etc. If you take loans at a variable interest rate, the price of the loan rises with the market rate. You need to intelligently deal with this risk related to variable interest rate.
- Always keep an emergency backup fund
Life is unpredictable and so is the need for funds. If you don’t have savings, how will you deal with such emergency situations? In fact you can go in more debt to fulfill emergency needs. so better to keep your savings in place.
- Take a part-time job
If in spite of cutting down on expenses, you find it difficult to pay your debt amount, consider taking up a part-time job. If you work for an extra 4-8 hours a week you can easily earn an extra $100 to $200 a month. This will make a huge difference in paying off the debt amount. You can work as a freelancer depending on your field of interest.
- Apply debt snowball method
It’s a popular approach of paying off debts where you pay the smallest debt first, then the next-smallest one. This actually works and keeps you motivated towards repayment.
- Take professional help
If you’ve tried everything and still unable to keep up with the regular payments and your debt are accruing giving you nightmares, better to seek a professional help. There are professionals specialized in the field of debt management.
Conclusion
Decide on the debt repayment strategy wisely. There are two important questions you have to ask, one is which debts to pay off first and another is in which order you want to pay off your debts. Try to pay the debts with higher interest rate first.