{"id":7418,"date":"2022-04-25T12:08:53","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T02:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adelaideprivatewealth.com.au\/six-savvy-ways-to-get-out-of-debt-and-get-ahead\/"},"modified":"2022-04-25T12:08:53","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T02:38:53","slug":"six-savvy-ways-to-get-out-of-debt-and-get-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adelaideprivatewealth.com.au\/six-savvy-ways-to-get-out-of-debt-and-get-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Six savvy ways to get out of debt and get ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s easy to walk into debt, but so much harder to get out of it. You must own your mess and know that your financial reason for living is to pay down your debt, writes Glen James author of\u00a0Sort Your Money Out & Get Invested.<\/em><\/p>\n Apathy and debt reduction don\u2019t go hand in hand. You know exactly what your sacrifice will be\u2009\u2014\u2009and there\u00a0will<\/em>\u00a0need to be some sacrifice.<\/p>\n Not only do you first need to be living on less than you earn, you also need to have a surplus to pay down debt. It isn\u2019t going to be easy and you know it.<\/p>\n Here are some extremely practical steps to help you win the \u2018cleaning your debt\u2019 battle.<\/p>\n Remember, this is not forever. The deeper you sacrifice now, the sooner you will be debt free and able to get on with life.<\/p>\n 1. Focus and determination<\/strong><\/p>\n One way of focusing on paying down debt is to have a goal that\u2019s greater than the debt itself.<\/p>\n A useful goal is to add up all your debt and the total monthly repayments and do a basic calculation to work out how many months it will take to clear your debt. Your challenge is to try to halve that time period.<\/p>\n 2. Reward yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n As we want to throw everything at your debt-clearing campaign, you should think of some things you\u2019d like to do\u2009\u2014\u2009either financial or non-financial\u2009\u2014\u2009after you pay off each debt. And you should also celebrate once you\u2019re completely out of debt.<\/p>\n Use a blank piece of paper to write down a few reward goals.<\/p>\n 3. Pull a budget lever<\/strong><\/p>\n There are four levers you can pull on a budget to make changes so that you have more money to throw at your debt.<\/p>\n Increase your income\u00a0with a pay rise or a second job.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Decrease your savings, because you really should not be saving while you\u2019re trying to get out of debt.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Reduce your costs\u00a0by reviewing the categories in your budget. Do you need a personal trainer and a gym membership?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Or you can\u00a0cut something out completely.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Sticking with the health and fitness examples, you may choose to cut this category out completely while you attack your debt. This could be ditching the gym and personal trainer and deciding to just go for a jog to keep fit, or buy some weights for the back deck.<\/p>\n 4. Gumtree<\/strong><\/p>\n What crap (I mean, \u2018valuable items to others\u2019) do you have lying around that you could move out of your life?<\/p>\n If it hasn\u2019t been used in 18\u00a0months and it isn\u2019t a family heirloom, sell it and put the money towards paying down debt. You can always buy more crap later when you\u2019re out of debt.<\/p>\n And think about how great you\u2019ll feel after de-cluttering and getting your house and garage in order, to reflect the fact you\u2019re getting your financial life in order.<\/p>\n 5. Existing savings<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re in consumer debt on one hand and on the other hand have cash savings, it\u2019s probably because you don\u2019t have a solid money system in place, and\/or you\u2019re conflicted and have a mash-up of logic and emotions in your mind.<\/p>\n That\u2019s okay. It can be scary. Start by deciding that you are no longer saving any more money and instead, each pay allocate your savings money towards your debt.<\/p>\n 6. Side hustles<\/strong><\/p>\n Side hustling<\/a>\u00a0is when you work on the side to your regular or main job and \u2018hustle\u2019 to make additional money or to advance your career.<\/p>\n I am not a fan of pursuing a side hustle for the sake of it. I believe there are a few specific reasons you should do a side hustle.<\/p>\n A side hustle can earn you extra money to get you out of debt and to save for a short-term goal. If a side hustle grows exponentially, you have an opportunity to quit your main job and pursue your own business 100 per cent of the time. You can also allocate your side hustle income to investments.<\/p>\n It is important to understand that if you\u2019re doing a side hustle to pay for food, rent and other day-to-day expenses, it\u2019s really just a second job.<\/p>\n This could be a sign that your expenses are higher than your income, which means you may need to consider reducing your expenses or that you\u2019re being underpaid.<\/p>\n You are now able to start cleaning up your mess. In fact, you can tell people your side hustle is \u2018debt cleaner\u2019.<\/p>\n This is an edited extract from\u00a0<\/em>Sort Your Money Out & Get Invested\u00a0(Wiley, $32.95), available now where all good books are sold.<\/em><\/p>\n Source: Flying Solo January 2022<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n This article by Glen James<\/a> is reproduced with the permission of Flying Solo \u2013 Australia\u2019s micro business community. Find out more and join over 100K others https:\/\/www.flyingsolo.com.au\/join.<\/p>\n The post Six savvy ways to get out of debt and get ahead<\/a> appeared first on MLC Contemporary<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTry these six steps to rid yourself of debt<\/h3>\n
\n
<\/a>
Important:
This provides general information and hasn\u2019t taken your circumstances into account. It\u2019s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what\u2019s right for you. Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business and our Licensee. Neither our business, nor our Licensee take any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author. Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents\/information contained within the linked site(s) ac www.flyingsolo.com.au > Logo file is here: https:\/\/bit.ly\/flying-solo-logo<\/p>\n