You’ve tried your best to budget, but you’re still living paycheck to paycheck.
It can be difficult to get out of debt once you’re in it. Debt can be pervasive. Over time, you just have more expenses than you have income.
To get out of this debt, you need to take action. In this article, we’ll discuss seven ways that you can get out of debt fast.
1. Start a Debt Management Plan
A debt management plan through a credit counseling service can take a look at whether you can “afford” your debt. They can negotiate to get you better interest rates, consolidate your debt, and otherwise make your debt more manageable to pay. But you will need to be able to pay the debts every month. If you aren’t able to pay off your debt, you’ll find yourself back in the same situation.
2. Hold a Yard Sale
Sometimes you have more around than you might think. Hold a yard sale to sell off some of the older products that you no longer want. Don’t forget that in some neighborhoods, you might need a license to hold a yard sale first. You can also hold a digital yard sale and sell things on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
3. Liquidate Some Investments
It may be better in the long term to take some money out of your retirement savings to pay off your debt. In fact, sometimes you can actually take out a loan against your retirement account, so you don’t need to liquidate your assets. Either way, you may be losing more money on your debt every year than you are actually gaining in your investments.
4. Settle Your Debts
You can reach out to creditors to potentially settle debts for less than they’re worth. But that does mean that you’ll have to pay off those debts. For instance, if you owe $3,000, you might be able to settle for $1,800. But you’ll have to pay that $1,800 immediately. That might not be possible if you don’t have cash on you, unless you do something like sell your house fast to a cash home buyer.
5. Consolidate With a Loan
You can take out a loan with a lower interest rate to consolidate higher-interest debts such as credit cards. But do keep in mind that this can hurt your credit as you’ll be taking out another loan altogether. You will need a relatively good credit score too if you’re interested in loan consolidation. So you might want to try this option early before your credit is damaged.
6. Declare Bankruptcy
Declaring bankruptcy is the last option you want to take because bankruptcy will follow you around. But declaring bankruptcy will immediately stop collections actions and let you walk away free and clear. Not all debt can be erased of course. Student loans are a major one that can’t be. But you will be able to erase a lot of your debt through bankruptcy and may be able to manage your budget.
7. Sell Your House
If you sell your house fast, you won’t need to worry about your debt. You can use the proceeds to pay it off and walk away free and clear. A lot of people are in debt because they have a house they can’t afford. If that’s your situation, it may be best to sell your house as soon as possible. We buy houses as-is — no repairs needed. If you need to sell your house fast, we can help. At Geaux Home Buyers, we buy houses that others can’t. Contact us today to find out more information.