Debt management can refer to two different things. One is the debt relief program that can help you achieve debt freedom. The other involves the habits that will help you manage your credit so you can keep yourself from being ruined by the credit that you have taken on.
Debt had always been given a bad image. It is viewed to be a source of misery for a lot of families. Being in debt is the epitome of a financial crisis. When you have too many credit obligations, you will end up with a very restricted budget. Since you have to pay off your debts, you will be left with a smaller amount for your basic necessities. In most cases, you are compelled to sacrifice a lot about your life in order to meet all the required debt contributions on a monthly basis.
But we all know that most of us have more than credit cards to take care of. We also have mortgage loans and student debts to take care of. Not to mention the medical bills that usually drive people to declare themselves bankrupt.
Without a doubt, debt management is something that we need. Whether it is the debt relief program or the skills to manage your debts, it remains to be a useful solution to your money woes. But did you know that it can also make you rich? Although we have just explained how too much credit can rob you, it can also help you build your wealth.
How does credit management help you get debt freedom?
Of course, before debt can propel you towards wealth, you have to learn how to get rid of debt first. It is the whole debt experience that will make you rich – at least if you do it correctly.
Step one is to take control of your debts first. While there are many options to get out of debt, we will be focusing on debt management. All of the available debt solutions are effective but you need to be qualified for it. Not only that, they all have different processes and effects in your finances that you may want to consider how you want your financial situation to end up when you finally achieve debt freedom.
Debt management is a great alternative to debt consolidation loans. Instead of relying on a loan to pay off your debts, you will restructure your debt payment plan so you can afford the monthly payments without sacrificing too much of your basic necessities.
Here are the important facts of this debt solution that will get you out of your credit problems.
It involves a credit counselor who has the expertise to analyze your debt and financial situation. They will scrutinize how much you owe and what you are capable of paying on a monthly basis.
For a maximum amount of $50 per month, they can help you create a debt management plan and assist you in implementing it.
A debt management plan contains your proposed monthly payment that is usually lower than what you used to contribute. This is done, not through debt reduction, but by stretching your remaining balance over a much longer payment period. This results in a lower payment scheme.
The credit counselor will also try to negotiate for a lower interest rate on their balance. This can help lower the monthly payments even further. Of course, this will never be guaranteed by the counselor because the final word will come from the creditor. But still, you should know that they will make their best effort.
The monthly payment in this debt solution will allow you to simplify your plan. Although the credit accounts will not be combined, your payments will be. Part of the service of the credit counselor is to help distribute the monthly payment that you will make. You do not have to put too much effort into tracking your due dates and making sure that your money arrives in time in your credit account. However, if you still find it difficult you can set up a due date tracking software to remind you of upcoming
If you follow your debt management plan, you will find yourself out of debt soon enough. But with all of these processes, how can this debt solution make you wealthy?
3 things you gain from this debt solution that will make you wealthy
The thing that will help you become rich is the attitude that you will gain when you implement the effective debt management tips that will be impacted by the credit counselor.
Here are the three important learnings that you will have through this debt relief program and how each of them will help you increase your personal net worth.
Financial Literacy
The first learning is financial literacy. People get into a financial crisis because they did not know how to manage their money wisely. They got themselves into debt because they failed to understand what it will cost them. According to the survey published by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling through NFCC.org, 40% of Americans think that their financial knowledge only merits them a C, D or F (2013).
This proves that financial literacy is one of the ways that we can avoid putting ourselves through a debt crisis. You cannot find financial success when you lack the knowledge to manage your money. This is something that debt management can help you with.
All debt management programs will begin with credit counseling. The counselor will educate you and give you the materials that you need to help you understand how money should be spent. You will be taught how to budget, save and how to make smart decisions about your finances. Your knowledge is what will propel you to explore opportunities that will grow your money.
Discipline with Money
Another learning that you will get from debt management is a discipline with money. It is very important that you learn how to control your finances because that is where the discipline will be honed. The most important manifestation of that discipline will be shown in how you spend your money. If you are reckless in your spending and you cannot follow a plan, then you will have no hope of controlling where your money should go to. You will be bound by compulsive buying habits that will eventually lead you to be in debt. A good practice you can implement is to have bookkeeping software to track all your incoming and outgoing money.
Through the watchful eye of the credit counselor and the rules in your debt management plan, you will be trained on how to implement your financial plan. This discipline will also be forced into you because when you fail to follow the plan, your creditors will terminate it and you will go back to paying the bigger amount that you used to make.
A plan, whether it is a business plan or budget plan can only be effective if you learn how to implement it. By having discipline, you can get the fruit of the goal that you are trying to reach through your financial plans.
No Shortcut for the Debt Solution
The last learning is knowing that there is no shortcut. In debt management, there is no reduction of what you owe. You will end up paying for everything that you have borrowed – up to the last cent. You are only restructuring your payment plan to make it easier.
This is an important lesson that we all have to learn. When we have it easy, we sometimes tend to take things for granted – especially the lessons that we should have learned from our mistakes.
If you fail to realize the mistake and take in the lesson, you can get into another financial crisis. We have mentioned before that being in debt will keep you from achieving financial wealth. So the patience that you will get from this debt solution will help you develop the perseverance that will make you rich.