Having problems with loan and other debt you couldn’t catch up with? That certainly isn’t an easy thing to deal with. Financial difficulties are doubtlessly tough but never impossible to weather. If you are looking for advice on how to get rid of debt, go over the discussions below to get some insights. They may not be right on point in addressing the specific problems you have but they should be able to provide some useful guidance on how you can manage your financial obligations better.

For the following discussions, focus on this word ASAP—which spells out Austerity, Savings, Additional Sources of Income, and Payment.

Austerity

The reason your indebtedness is piling up on you is your lack of resources. You are spending more than you are earning so you need to leverage your earnings with borrowings that entail costly interest expenses and service charges. As such, you have to learn to practice austerity. Learn to cut on your unessential expenses. Of course, this one’s easier said than done. You have to be careful especially when you think you don’t really have anything unessential to let go of.

Start with the utilities. You don’t really need anything else other than electricity, heating/cooling, water, and rent for your appointment. You may need to stop your cable TV service and Internet connection. Know how to prioritize. Don’t keep using power-consuming appliances to lower electric bills. Avoid using your credit card. Learn to hunt for bargains and sales to save on your grocery and toiletry spending.

Savings

Pursue savings whenever you encounter the opportunity. This is not just limited to getting savings from buying groceries or other consumer items. This also applies to trying to find savings from the interest payments you need to pay. When you have debts, you are expected to pay for interests, service charges, and other associated fees. In most cases if your debt is not completely paid off the soonest, you will continue having to pay for higher interest. There are even cases when loan balances with interest also incur additional interest.

Small debts become unmanageable over time because of the amount of interest you have to pay for them. If you can find loans with better interest rates and payment terms, try obtaining them to use the proceeds in paying smaller debts with higher cost of borrowing. Consult people who can help you in undertaking debt consolidation. There are credit unions or cooperatives that offer this assistance to those who are deeply troubled by their enormous debts.

Also, as much as possible, try to have savings even in very small amounts. This is to help yourself change your attitude. For most people, it really helps seeing some amount of money accumulating over time. This stimulates and sustains the desire and eventual habit of wanting to have savings. There’s usually that inexplicable feeling of fulfillment in seeing some amount of savings regardless of the amount.

Additional Sources of Income

Of course you are troubled with debts because you are not earning enough. What’s the best solution for that? Logically—it’s seeking more income! You may need to look for an additional job. Just be sure that the new job does not affect the one that you already have. The last thing you would want is knowing that you have been fired in your first job because you are becoming less productive as you struggle to fulfill multiple obligations.

If you are doing business, try changing your strategies if you are still not improving your earnings. If your operations are doing great, consider expanding although you need to be very careful about obtaining a new loan to fund an expansion. You can also try making joint ventures or collaborating with other businesses to capitalize on certain advantages. For instance, if you have a good place in front of a busy street, you may want to contact online sellers to have their products displayed or consigned on your store. You may then ask for commissions for sales made. If you have to sell properties, go ahead but be careful not to sell them at a loss or a very low price.

Payment

Of course you can’t get rid of financial obligations if you don’t pay them. You have to make sure that you always allocate some amount to slowly pay off debts. If your current financial standing can’t really deal with all the debts you are having, find ways to minimize the interests. For instance, if you have unpaid credit cards, stop using them or have them cancelled and negotiate with the credit card company some setup to make the obligation less onerous. Some credit card companies are willing to stop the accumulation of interests for those who promise payment with a specific timeline. Obviously, it’s better for them to have this kind of compromise instead of having to completely write off bad debts.

Try to fit these ASAP guidelines in your specific situation. You need to employ all four: living an austere lifestyle, pursuing savings, looking for additional sources of income, and ensuring payments. The important points here are to minimize your expenses while increasing your income, changing your attitude in handling money, and coming up with compromises to make the debts less costly to completely pay off.