Association of National Lenders: Members Updates

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Manage your debts - the easy way

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Being in debt can be a stressful and worrying time for anyone, which can easily make managing debts particularly difficult. However, it doesn't have to be hard, and can actually be easier than you thought. This short guide highlights how you could manage your debts - the easy way. Improve your debt management skills

Improving your debt management skills can be an excellent way to keep on top of your finances and clear your debts. A good way to improve your debt management skills is to create a budget. To do this you should add up all your monthly expenses (bills, mortgage/rent payments, debt payments, etc.), then subtract this total from your take-home pay.

If your take-home pay is enough to cover your expenses, you should be fine. debt management However, if you find that your take-home pay isn't enough to cover the cost of your essential expenses, you should address this problem immediately - seeking debt management help could be a good place to start.

Budgeting will also allow you to see exactly where your money is coming from and where your money is going to - which should help you see if you are wasting your money, and if you are, where you are wasting it.

If you find that you are spending on unnecessary expenses, you could make cut backs to free up some money, and put it towards repaying your debts. Devise a money-saving plan

One of the best ways to make sure you're always on top of your finances is to come up with your own money-saving plan. In other words, what are you going to do to cut back on your expenses to make sure you can afford to service your debts?

Here are a few ideas that you may want to include in your own money-saving plan:

o Eat at home - instead of going out to the restaurant or ordering a takeout, you should aim to eat at home each and every night while you are in debt. Ok, so eating out may be faster and easier, but you've got debts to repay, so unless you want to stay in debt for longer (and pay more interest), save your money and use it towards your debt repayments instead of using it for meals out.

oConsider asking for overtime at work to boost your income. Depending on what type of job you have, your boss may be happy to give you a few extra hours here and there.

oWhy not take on a second job? Many people have had to take on second jobs to cope with their debts. If you are interested in doing this, you could work in the evenings or at the weekend. It doesn't have to be a big job, just something that will boost your income enough to help you tackle your debts.