Is This You?

Are you going to be one of the tiny percentage of people who finally manages to crawl out of a financial black hole and start building your life to what it could be?

The process can be a totally emotionally liberating experience as well as financially liberating. But here’s the truth:

There is no magic bullet for getting out of debt: You need to commit to it.

You can make it if you can make a deal with yourself and agree to limit your spending drastically for a short time.

The one thing that bars probably 99.9 percent of all the people on the planet from reaching their full potential is financial need. Tragically, in most cases this state of fiscal crisis is self inflicted and oh-so-unnecessary.

To get out of your financial fix you may have to put your dreams on-hold for just a short while: but the results will be worth it. You won’t get the feeling that your success is only going to be short-lived once you get there, if you haven’t got huge amounts of debt hanging over your head.

If you plan to make 2010 the year you start achieving and the cutoff point for your ongoing financial chaos, I’m so happy to hear it!

Here are some major tips and guidelines that will enable you to get out of financial chaos fast

1. The first step is to completely and accurately assess your financial situation. Add up your debts, your expenses, and everything coming in. You cannot formulate a plan to end your money woes until you know exactly where you stand.
2. Cut up ALL your credit cards. Replace them with debit cards if you must: that way you will be certain you’re not spending money you don’t have. But best of all? Don’t use plastic at all. Revert to paper money: here’s exactly why.
3. Do everything you can to minimize your debts: consolidate them if you have to so that you know exactly how much you owe. Reduce interest as much as you can because paying interest will keep you in debt indefinitely unless you fight hard to get yourself clear of it. Arrange to have credit card payments and other debt payments taken out of your account the minute the money comes in so you know where you are.
4. Determine a period of time where you slash your spending right down to the minimum: You will be able to make huge inroads on your debt this way, so it is worth it. This might include no eating out, no new home purchases, no new clothes unless absolutely essential, and I-O-U notes instead of gifts for the family. Don’t make life totally miserable though: allow yourself and your family a treat say, once a week. If this sounds spartan, maybe it is. But it is a superb shortcut to hauling yourself out of the financial doldrums. What percentage of your income you can spend depends on how much income you have at your disposal, but remember that the more you allocate to paying off your debts, the faster you will be in a situation where you can achieve your full potential: whether that be by starting your own business or in some other way.
5. Stop investing in anything risky: now is not the time to be playing the stock market or taking on the role of ‘angel investor.’ Only those with an amount of disposable income and no debts can afford to do that. Don’t kid yourself: if you risk money that you can’t do without you are setting yourself up for a disaster in the form of even greater debt.