Reducing Debt Before Its Too Late - How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Creeping Debt

Reducing debt usually isn't a high priority for people until they have already gotten into trouble with overspending. Using a few basic guidelines, and debt calculations, can help you see when your debt load is getting into the danger zone.

Budgeting Guidelines

Creditors use budgeting guidelines when reviewing and approving credit. If your debt exceeds the financial communities recommended guidelines, then you have a higher risk of credit applications being denied.

Getting, and keeping, your debt in line with recommended budgeting guidelines, is an important step in debt reduction.

Use the following recommended budgeting guidelines (the same ones used by Financial Institutions) to review the items in your budget:

• Housing 35% - Mortgage or rent, taxes, repairs, improvements, insurance, and utilities;

• Transportation 20% - Monthly payments, gas, oil, repairs, insurance, parking & public transportation;

• Debt 15%* - Credit cards, personal loans, student loans & other debt payments;

• All other expenses 20% - Food, insurance, prescriptions, doctor & dentist bills, clothing & personal;

• Investments & Savings 10% - Stocks, bonds, cash reserves, retirement, rental real estate, art, etc.

Debt Income Ratios

The second step is calculating your debt income ratio. Once you know what your ratio is, you will understand just how important debt load is to your overall financial picture. Your debt income ratio is the percent of your monthly take-home pay that goes to paying debts.

You calculate it by taking the amount needed to repay debts each month, including rent or mortgage, and divide by your take-home pay (your net pay after taxes). Remember, this is "Debt" ratio, so only include actual debt repayment in the calculation.

Credit To Debt Ratio

Just because you pay off a credit card is no reason to close your account. One little known fact about the Credit to Debt Ratio is the reverse effect it has on your credit score. If you pay off a credit card, and close the account, you are actually negatively impacting your credit score.

The reason for this negative effect is in the calculation of the Credit to Debt Ratio itself. This ratio is the relationship of your debt total vs. your credit limit.

You calculate it by dividing the total credit limit of all credit cards and loan accounts by the total of the actual debt (spent total). Now, if you pay off a credit card, you are reducing the actual debt, which is great, but, if you close the account, you are also dramatically reducing the credit limit you have, and usually by a higher percentage than the debt reduction.

Pay Yourself First

Essential to long-term financial success, and protecting your future, is paying yourself first. While this may seem easy to do, it happens to be the last thing most people do, instead of first. Debts and other financial obligations, money for entertainment, and other spending always seem to take a higher priority. All I can say is, STOP! Think about it, if you aren't worth being paid first, then who is? Always put something away in your savings, and leave it alone. It doesn't matter if it's only $5 a week, just do it!

Snowball The Credit Cards

Last, but not least, is making extra payments, not just the minimum payments, on your credit cards. You have probably already seen this many times, but it just can't be stressed enough. Paying just $10 extra a month on a credit card, above the minimum required payment, can cut your repayment term in half, if not more! So, squeeze out that extra payment, however small, every month, and take advantage of the compounding effect of snowballing your debt away.

The Power of Financial Knowledge

Remember, you don't have to be a financial whiz to understand what's going on with your credit and debt. Just a few simple calculations, and an eye on the future, will go a long way to help you succeed financially and keep your debt under control. Be safe, be smart, do the math!

Related articles:

Compare the pros and cons of debt consolidation loans, service companies, and credit counseling.


http://www.debtsteps.com/consolidate-debts.html

Understanding how your credit score can affect your debt relief choice


http://www.debtsteps.com/credit-score.html

Copyright 2004 DebtSteps.com, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Publishing guidelines:

Publication is permitted so long as the resource information at the end of the article remains intact, and links are live..

Please email articles "AT" debtsteps.com providing a link to the location of the article, or a copy of the newsletter.

About The Author

Debs is the editor of www.DebtSteps.com where you can get the answers you need about debt relief, consolidation, credit counseling and more. Free subscrption and money management worksheets http://www.debtsteps.com/debt-help.html

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Debt Relief Information:

Related Articles

What Is A FICO Score?
Your FICO score or credit score as it's commonly called is a very important calculation that can control whether or not you are eligible to receive credit and if eligible the terms you can receive credit under. Failure to understand the impact this score can have on you future purchasing power and lifestyle can be disastrous.
Do It Yourself Debt Relief
With mounting bills and unforeseen hardships, you may be considering some form of debt relief. There are many options to help you, but the best may actually be you helping yourself.
How to Become Debt Free
In today's consumer society it is all too easy to get into debt. If you have a few credit cards, car loan, mortgage and possibly student loans it can easily add up.
Establish Money Saving Goals For Added Success
Having something tangible to strive towards can work wonders for your money-saving efforts. To those of you that have already been actively implementing money-saving tips in order to lower your monthly bills, for added inspiration, establish a meaningful goal along with a specific dollar amount.
New Bankruptcy Law - Five Essential Things to Know
Last April, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act, the most sweeping reform of our nation's bankruptcy laws in more than twenty-five years. Proponents of the bill argue that most consumers who file for bankruptcy do so simply because they do not wish to pay their bills.
Credit Card Debt Elimination
Credit card debt elimination can be done with a good plan and a little patience.The important thing is to find what works best for you and stick to your plan.
Debt Consolidation Versus Debt Negotiation
Debt consolidation versus debt negotiation are two options that are available to you if you need debt assistance. When your monthly bills become too much for you to handle, it makes sense to use debt consolidation or debt negotiation for solving debt and credit problems.
Creating A Realistic Budget
Budgeting -- ooh, what a scary word! If you want to frighten someone whose finances are out of control, suggest that they tally up their expenses on a piece of paper. We all understand the value of such an exercise, but when it comes to the practicality of putting a budget together, we get cold feet.
Questions to Ask a Credit Counseling Service about Debt Relief
Debt relief is a topic on a lot of consumers' minds these days, and with good reason. American credit card debt in 2001 was $692 billion, triple the amount from 1989.
Help for the Single Mother with Managing Credit and Debt
Today's consumers benefit drastically from the usefulness of credit. Credit cards are especially useful for large purchases, emergency situations, making reservations, identification, and protection from fraud.
Future Secured? Oh Really?
A headline for a retirement annuities flyer declares "FutureSecured!" Was your reaction like mine? Yea, sure!Is our financial future ever that secure? Maybe for a few. But for the majority of us this is not true.
Debt Problems? You Can Negotiate With Your Creditors
It is always possible to negotiate with creditors - even if they have already taken you to court to get a judgment or to garnish your wages.Getting a creditor to reduce your monthly payment helps and does provide short-term relief.
Bankruptcy 101
Bankruptcy still remains a mystery in the eyes of many consumers. This article will review the facts of bankruptcy as per written law.
Ten Ways to Get Out of Debt
1) Use your AssetsIf you have assets with some significant equity, such as a home or a car you may be able to use these to get control of your debt. For example, you could get a loan on your home sufficient to pay off your debts.
Why You Should Get Out of Debt Today?
The main reason for getting out of debt today, is because people with little or not debt have more control over their future:1. They have more discretionary income, meaning that you won't be living pay check after pay check as you probably are right now.
Bankruptcy Reform: Designed to Protect Big Business
Who will benefit from the new bankruptcy reform laws? The financial services industry and other big business groups, that's who.These groups contributed millions of dollars to elect Bush and other Republican candidates in 2000 and 2004, with the goal of overhauling the bankruptcy system.
Stop Debt Collectors
Can you stop debt collectors ? . .
Get Debt Free
If you once have been caught in the debt trap, how do you come out of it and be debt free? We are different and each of us has our own lifestyle and our own financial state, so the way to debt elimination is different from person to person. One plan will be good for some, but not for others.
New Bankruptcy Legislation May Make it Harder to Find an Attorney
The recently passed Bankruptcy Abuse prevention and Consumer Protection Act will make it harder for people with problem debt to have their debt eliminated through filing for bankruptcy. This new legislation will make it harder to have debts wiped out by the courts, and will require more debtors to pay back some or all of their debts.
Corporate Debt Management - Perspective on the Why
Entrepreneurs have a tough time in their formative years. They try too many things to get a foothold on this competitive business climate, and that too they try them too soon.