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As with anything we fear, sometimes we just have to face it. Pick an afternoon or evening this week where you will sit down with all your receipts and bank account details to determine just how much you owe. You need to know how much you spend too. Once you know this, it will be easier to work out what you can afford to do about being in debt.
Before you end up with a debt snowball, take stock of your situation. Between now and your evening of figuring out what you need to do, stop spending. Anything that isn’t essential should be cut out. When you do get to check over how much you owe, you may find that a lot of your debt has come from the non-essentials in life. Coffees, take-outs, and that keg of beer certainly cheered you up at the time. But borrowing the money to pay for them means you are paying far more for them in real terms than they are worth.
Use a spreadsheet or a spending tracker app to list everything that has been spent on your credit card or paid for by loan or overdraft. This will give you a chance to analyse what is causing your debt. This will go a long way toward you eliminating the debt and preventing you from getting into further debt in the future. Paying it off just needs to be slow and steady. Make sure it is within your means and place the amount firmly in your monthly budget plan.
This photograph from Flickr.com
To help reduce the physical symptoms of the stress you may be feeling, there are lots of things you can do for free that will help. Now you know what you have to do, walk away from it. Take a twenty-minute walk to get your heart rate up, and burn off the adrenaline of having to see all those unpleasant numbers. When you get back, drink a relaxing chamomile tea in a warm bubble bath.
Each day, do the same. You could even throw in some Yoga stretches. You are probably resenting the fact you need to give up your visits to the coffee bar, but taking in your own coffee means you get it quicker and save a fortune. If you have to give up takeaways except for special occasions, try cooking up something special every week that makes a great alternative. Home-made pizza can cost as little as a few cents compared with a twenty dollar pizza.