In this day and age, it only takes a few financial missteps and many consumers can find themselves in trouble. The one factor that exacerbates this is debt, or, to be more precise, overwhelming debt.
For some consumers, getting out of debt simply means tightening the household budget and being more stringent on new purchases. For others, the challenge of getting out of debt can be more daunting. In either case, the best self-help plan for relieving debt is planning and discipline.
The first step to relieving debt is to find out where you are. Make an income list and an expense list. On the income statement, list all of your income. On the expense statement, list all of your current bills. Once this is complete, subtract the expenses from the income and you will have your disposable income. For some consumers, this may be a negative number, which means you are paying out more than you are bringing in.
In order to maintain a clean credit report and keep a high credit score it is imperative that you pay all of your bills on time. This is simple common sense, but what if you do not have enough money to pay all of your bills on time? What can you...