Debt Hacker: Tools for a Debt-Free Life » Debt Reduction Plan

Debt Management Tips from Across the Pond

admin@debthacker.com — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:31:26 +0000

If you think that the United States is the only country struggling with staggering consumer debt, then think again. Our friends the Brits are experiencing the same economic woes and for many of the same reasons as a post in The Independent points out.

This post outlines a few simple, but wise steps for getting out of debt hell or better still, how to avoid it altogether. They are

Pay less interest
Be wary of TV debt adverts
Be sure to budget properly
Talk to your lenders

The full post goes into greater detail for each of the four points, but the one I found most captivating was the third, “Be wary of TV debt adverts”. The post illustrates this warning as follows

If you’re ever at home in the daytime, it’s hard to miss the endless stream of debt-consolidation adverts shown between the programmes. Although these can be useful for a small number of people, Frances Walker warns that, in 90 per cent of cases, people will be better off pursuing alternative solutions to their debt problems. “Nine times out of 10, we don’t think these are a good deal,” she says. “For a start, you are turning unsecured debt into secured debt - so you are putting your home at risk. But they may be suitable for a small number of people who have a lot of equity in their homes.”

Here in the States, we are deluged with such ‘adverts’ (or ‘commercials’) in the daytime AND at night, so it’s a good point to bear in mind. I know there have been many desperate evenings when even some of the most questionable looking advertisers have looked attractive just because I was so stressed out by my debt and sincerely looking for a way out.

Anyhoo, it’s good stuff. You can read the full post at The Independent.

Get an MBA in Garage Sales

Mark — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:54:12 +0000

There is a great article on Buzz.com titled The $3000 Garage Sale: A Quick Overview for Aspiring Garagepreneurs that details just that: how to make $3,000 for selling your junk. For those of us who are trying to get out of debt, certainly the garage sale has come up at one point or another but usually as a means to get some gas money while at the same time purging your home of clutter. Well, according to author Vincent Pagliani, the $50 Garage Sale is for wimps. The REAL movers and shakers can make money into the thousands with the right attitude and the tips that he outlines.

Pagliani does a fine job analyzing the logistics and organizing the steps to a successful sale which are usually haphazardly executed at best. His advice transforms the once mundane garage sale into an enterprise and elevates the lowly homeowner standing on their lawn with a bunch of old dishes on a folding card table to the status of a ‘Garagepreneur‘. Such a lofty title would make even Fred Sanford proud.

So what’s the secret? Pagliani outlines what apparently derives from a larger text titled Secrets of a Successful Garagepreneur: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Serious Money on Garage Sales. The steps are

Do good reconnaissance
Design a floor plan
Learn how to choose the right stuff
Find good suppliers
The Zen of garage sale pricing
The five Ps of marketing

He goes on to say that

The first thing to understand is that a profitable garage sale — like any other profitable business — is not just dumb luck. Successful Garagepreneurs know how to offer the right products at the right price at the right time…and cleverly promote each garage sale event.

There’s more to a successful garage sale than planting a Garage Sale! sign in your front yard and piling up a bunch of junk on a couple of card tables. Garagepreneurship is estimated to be a $2 billion per year industry — that’s right, industry. Some enterprising Garagepreneur will make serious money this year.

Will that Garagepreneur be you?

Read the entire post on Buzzle.com.

A Combat Weapon on the Battlefield of Debt

Mark — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:44:10 +0000

Any good soldier will tell you that one of the things crucial to winning a battle is the ability to see the enemy. Well, the same holds true of fighting a battle with debt. For most of us who have numerous credit cards, mortgages, car loans, student loans and other interest-accumulating accounts, it can be difficult to strategize if you cannot see the big picture. Furthermore, there is a lot of conflicting advice about which bill to pay first to get out of debt soonest. The fact is that while there are general rules that apply, everyone’s financial picture is different and therefore requires its own unique strategy to be able to wisely and effectively pay down debt while at the same time, paying the least possible amount in interest.Enter: The Rapid Debt Reducer debt elimination software. This is a fairly simple, non-fancy computer program that takes all of your debts, stacks them up and tells you the most direct path to paying it off in the least amount of time. On the one hand, there’s nothing revolutionary here, but what makes it worthwhile (and worth the $29.95 price tag) is that it having such an understanding about your bills really is like having night-vision goggles on the battlefield. By running different scenarios, you can get a crystal-clear picture about the best amounts to pay whom and when through a process they call ‘debt stacking’.

According to the website

The Rapid Debt Reducer is a “smart money manager” that identifies areas of unnecessary spending and teaches consumers how to use this money to crush their debts. As strategically paid debts are eliminated, the software shows how to use the freed money to eliminate more debt, repeating the process until the last debt is gone.

While most of us have heard that advice 100 times over on Oprah or other shows, the hard part is actually figuring out the numbers. The Rapid Debt Reducer is a perfect tool that does the ‘figuring out’ for you and allows you to take the most appropriate and effective actions toward your goal of being debt free.

For more information visit The Rapid Debt Reducer website.

Debt Free by 2009? You Bet!

Mark — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:28:29 +0000

Being debt free was at the very top of my resolutions list for 2008. For that matter, it was at the top of my list in 2007, 2006, 2005 and every year that I have had to pay bills. Still, I re-determined to make this the year to finally achieve that goal. There is a great article on MSN Money titled Debt-free — and more — by 2009 that outlines ways to do just that. Among them are

Reviewing the strategy that failed
Setting reasonable goals
Re-evaluating your definition of reasonable

The post is actually a reflection on author MP Dunleavey’s own journey to being free of debt. Through her humorous candor, she reveals concrete ways to approach the task while encouraging us to reflect on the times we have made this goal in the past and what happened as a result.

It all calls to mind the journey of someone trying to quit smoking. The experts say that the average smoker usually ‘quits’ five or six times before it finally sticks. Well, the same can be said of people who affirm and re-affirm to be debt free year after year. It is okay to not succeed the first few times, but it makes the final time a lot easier if you go into it with the wisdom of your past experiences.

Dunleavy says it best when she states

It pays to know your financial demons when you’re aiming for long-term progress. Rein in those little devils, and nothing will get in the way of you getting where you want to go.

It’s good advice that I, personally, intend to take to heart by following her prescription for becoming debt free by 2009. I will keep you posted on my progress!

Check out the full article at MSN Money.