At some point or another, most people have to deal with debt. Whether that’s a mortgage debt or a credit card overdraft, at one time or another, most of us borrow money. While there is nothing wrong with borrowing money, it can be a little problematic when you can’t afford to pay it back.
If you’re in serious debt and owe thousands to one company or another, you may be panicking. It’s easy to panic when we’re in debt, but trust us, this will only make things worse. As will burying your head in the sand and ignoring the problem – a response many people have to debt. It might be stressful thinking about it, but if you have any chance of getting your finances back on track, your debt needs to be dealt with.
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Calculate what you owe
Sit down with a calculator and a pen and paper and work out what you owe to each debtor. Then add all these debts together and calculate the total amount of money that you owe. Whatever the overall amount, don’t panic. (It might be easier said than done, but whatever the total, panicking is not the answer.)
It may be more or less than you thought you owed, but working out your overall amount of debt is important. As until you know how much you owe, you can’t work out a plan for clearing your debts.
Look for help
Did you know that there are many organizations that can help people who are in debt? So it’s definitely worth getting in touch with a couple of them to see whether there is anything that they can do to help you get back on track. Whether you’re struggling with old tax bills or credit card debts, there should be something that can help you.
For example, if you are struggling with old tax debts, you may be put in touch with tax debt relief services. Or, if you are struggling with old energy bills, you may be given the details for a local organization that can help you. You may be embarrassed to ask for help, but you shouldn’t be.
Contact your debtors
Once you know how much you owe to each company, contact them. Getting in touch with the people that you owe money to might be a daunting prospect, but it’s important that you do it. Contrary to what you expect to be treated like, you’ll find that most companies show empathy to people struggling with debt. So try to stay calm and not panic, no matter who you owe money to.
You’ll probably be asked how you got into debt in the first place, so make sure that you can explain this. Ask the debtor about your repayment options and tell them how much you can afford to pay off each month. It may take a while to pay back what you owe, but as long as you commit to paying it back, there shouldn’t be any further action taken.
Being in debt can be scary, but as you can see, there are ways to get yourself out of it. It may take time to get your finances back on track, but by following the steps above, it is doable.
