The Motley Fool has a comprehensive list of tips to escape debt. Of course, the major focus is achieving the 2 methods that can help you out of debt: earning more and spending less.
Here are a few of the tips that I think are most useful, with a little commentary from me, find out more at the Motley Fool.
- Find out what you spend your money on. Money can disappear without you realising, and if it does, how can you start doing anything about it unless you know where it’s going?
- Shop around for better deals. Don’t let apathy cost you money – see how much you can save on your household bills with services such as uSwitch.com*, see about switching your mortgage to a lower rate, and check out whether you have the cheapest deals on your insurance.
- Make your debts cheaper. Reduce your credit card debt – look around for credit cards which have a 0% introductory offer, and transfer your balance. Beware of consolidation loans which may lower the monthly rate you have to pay but will cost you much more in the long run.
- Pay off the most expensive debt first. Work out what is costing you the most, and pay that off (but don’t forget the rest of your debts!).
- Be wary of damaging your credit rating. Shopping around for better deals can affect your credit rating – you can check out your rating by signing up for a free Experian credit report* and 30 day free trial of the CreditExpert Monitoring Service.
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