Five Top Tips To Combat Debt

There are so many different types of debt and most of us will experience at least one of them during our lives. It can range from student debt and mortgage debt through to credit card and loan debt. Just because you have debt doesn’t necessarily mean you just can’t control your spending. Debt could happen due to a change in your home situation where you’ve split from a partner or someone has lost their job. So there’s no shame in it, as long as you get your head into gear to try and change your situation. There are quite a lot of tips to combat debt which you can start to use to help your journey.

I’m very lucky that so far I’ve had minimal debt in my life. I cleared my student debt just after graduating, although that wasn’t my brightest idea. There’s a whole post coming about student debt. I almost always have something on a credit card. But that doesn’t mean I can’t afford to buy it, it may have just been more convenient, or I’m just trying to get more AMX points.

People spend most of their lives in debt

Creditfix conducted a survey of 1,000 UK adults which revealed that 63% of British adults spend over half of their life in debt. And debt was revealed as one of the leading causes of shame for Brits. This doesn’t surprise me as most people aren’t comfortable talking about money.

Us Millenials are the most likely to find ourselves in debt due to mortgage/ rent payments (75%), student loan repayments (53%) and owning a car (48%). Whereas those over 55 confess to getting into debt due to their extravagant lifestyles such as holidays (54%) and home improvements (38%).

Me and Luke now have a mortgage which is the largest debt we’re ever going to have. But it now means we have a home we can call our own.  There are so many tips to combat debt which I could share but I thought I’d share some top tips to combat debt from fellow bloggers who have been there themselves.

Top tips to combat debt – Your mindset

For a lot of people, it’s about the mindset and making sure you’re determined to get out of debt. Vicky said “My top tip is to really be determined to get out of debt. It was sheer embarrassment and fear that made me get out of debt. Bailiffs knocked on my door when my kid was at school, but if she had been there, it would have scared her. I don’t ever want that to happen again. I was determined that she deserved more than me being too scared to open the door and she deserved a mother who grew up and acted like an adult. Rather than one who wasted money. Since lockdown started, I have saved £1800 and it has shown me how much money I wasted before lockdown.”

Sometimes it can take an event like bailiffs, or it can take a comment from someone else to give you the kick you need to take charge.

Open communication and speak to someone

When you are in the right mindset communication can be vital. Letting others know of your journey can help others support you. Vicky from ‘I Beat Debt’ said “My best advice if you have financial concerns is to speak to someone. It might seem scary, or even embarrassing, but I can assure you more people will be in a similar position to you than you realise. I spoke to a debt counselor and realised that I was in a worse position than I realised. I became a client of a debt charity and they helped me clear my debt, and learn about managing my money going forward. They genuinely changed my life and my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.”

As Vicky said other people will have been in the same position as you so you won’t be alone. Knowing there are people there to help, support or just listen to you can make a huge difference. And that’s one of the top tips to combat debt.

Top tips to combat debt- Be realistic

Once you know you want to combat your debt it can easy to run in all guns blazing and wanting to set every single thing and save every penny. But by doing this you’re more likely to fall off the bandwagon. Being realistic is important to ensure your own success.

Carlene from Simply Cash Hacks said “Develop a realistic payment plan and speak to creditors as early as possible to avoid defaults and being taken to court. Most debt companies will give you at least 30 days of breathing space if you inform them of your financial difficulties and that you’re seeking help from a debt advice organisation such as Citizen’s Advice.”

If it’s credit card debt then transfer it

It can be easy to just pay the minimum amount off your credit card each month. But we all know that’s not a good way to get out of debt. One of the top tips to combat debt which I heard a lot was about moving things to a 0% interest credit card while you clear your debt.

Clare from ‘Travel Bugs’ said “For paying off credit card debt, I have found transferring my debt to a 0% interest card which also doesn’t have a transfer fee. I got one recently which I found via Money Saving Expert’s recommendation. And then hacking away at that consolidated debt, increasing my monthly payment to the absolute maximum I can afford has worked well. This has really helped and I can see light at the end of the tunnel with paying it off. Also, the old idea of freezing your credit cards in a block of ice to stop you making purchases on a whim works well for some people too.”

Tina from ‘Girls Gospel‘ agrees with this method and says “I cleared off my bank overdraft which was charging me £70 per month in fees by taking out a credit card which offered 0% interest on cash transfers for 2 years. I paid a 4% fee on the £3500 I paid into my bank (£140) then cleared the card in just under 2 years by paying £155 a month off it.”

Top tips to combat debt- Be organised

Spreadsheets and planning may not be your thing, but it’s so important to stay organised to keep on top of your debt. And once you start seeing the number go down you’ll be even more determined to keep paying off your debts.

Laura of ‘Frugal France said “Once you’re in the zone, paying off debt is, fortunately, as addictive as accumulating it can be. One thing that helped me to become debt-free was facing up to what I owed and having it all in one spreadsheet. Seeing an overall total shocked me when I had previously been used to seeing a drip-feed of smaller balances on credit card statements once a month. Using the spreadsheet I then planned how long it would take me to pay off the debts in monthly chunks and being able to anticipate those goals and go on to meet them visually was both motivating and satisfying. It made everything seem more real, more in control and more achievable.”

What are your top tips to combat debt?

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