As i was browsing the internet this morning, my eyes caught the attention of a personal finance title with the heading “The 5 Dumbest Things You Can Do if You Have too Much Debt”, and clicked to read the article. I thought that the article highlighted some very important points that anyone who is getting out of debt, or trying to stay debt free, should always keep in mind.
The five strategies you may want to avoid:
The first piece of advice from experts in the financial field is to be sure you don’t make your situation worse by making common mistakes. In particular, try to avoid:
- Paying only the minimum payment on your debt, as this will result in the amount you owe actually growing, and your problems will only become worse.
- Relying on friends and family, as this can damage relationships with the most important people in your life.
- Unscrupulous credit counselors that demand cash upfront or high fees for help they promise, but don’t deliver.
- Using new, high-interest loans to pay off lower interest rate loans. While it may be easier to just have one payment, it will actually increase the amount you have to pay back.
- Declaring bankruptcy–this can have permanent and severe consequences on your financial future. Avoid it if you can, especially when debt settlement may work for you.
While there are some exceptions, for most part avoiding these five things/ strategies, you will be better off in the long run than if you take the pill.
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thanks for the post, Joseph. i appreciate the straightforward approach you took here. for a lot of us, these are some lessons that have been learned the hard way. although there is always hope, especially in understanding the truth about money. the only thing that could perhaps be added to the list would be to give to the church. for some this seems an option, for others more a responsibility. what has your experience been with this?
John,
Thanks for your response to this post. I do not think that giving to the local church is a shortcut, and giving tithes to your local church cannot get you in Debt.
I am a firm believer that giving cultivate some form of financial discipline because you cannot give what you do not have. You cannot also borrow to give (this is one big mistake some people make).
Hello,
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After seeing this, I would like to request you something. I love to write financial articles and I would like to contribute article for your site if you’ll give me the permission. I can give you an original guest post and I assure you that it will be published only in your site. If you want, you can suggest me the topic also and I will write accordingly.
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Thanks,
Myrina
Thanks Myrina – will connect with you and we can discuss this further.
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