Victims who suffer severe car accident injuries may be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits if they can no longer work or if their ability to work is compromised after the crash. While there is a heavy focus on the recovery of immediate compensation in a court case, the extensive process of applying for SSDI is often overlooked. Knowledge of all of the benefits available to victims is crucial as a person begins to regain control of his or her life.

Understanding SSDI Benefits

Social Security Disability Insurance is a payroll insurance program funded by the federal government through taxes. Managed and maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA), SSDI’s main purpose is to provide financial relief to those who find themselves greatly reduced in their work capacity due to physical or mental disabilities. The cause of these disabilities, whether the result of an ongoing condition since birth or a recent injury accident, matters very little as long as up to five questions can be answered to the SSA’s satisfaction. The questions are as follows:

1. Is the claimant performing substantial gainful activity?
2. Is the claimant’s impairment severe?
3. Does the impairment meet or equal the severity of the impairments in the Listing of Impairments?
4. Is the claimant able to perform past work?
5. Is the claimant able to perform any work in the economy?

Once the questions are answered to their satisfaction, the SSA provides monthly SSDI benefits to the individual. The amount a person with a disability receives is based on a portion of past earnings. These benefits may take a considerable amount of time to acquire, especially if there is an appeal or reconsideration.

If an injury is not listed within the SSA’s Listing of Impairments, the victim may still qualify for benefits if it is established that the disability is medically equivalent to one in the listing. A doctor is often enlisted to assist with creating a residual functioning capacity form (RFC) to determine the severity of the impairment. This can be a practitioner enlisted by the SSA or the treating doctor of the claimant. The RFC is determined by evaluating the workload the individual can complete easily, ranging from heavy factory work to sedentary work. Usually, one needs to be scored as less than capable of performing sedentary workloads. Exceptions for the rules exist. If the applicant is over the age of 55 or cannot change jobs due to a lack of education or formal training, then that is taken into consideration.

Victims do not need to have a permanent injury for the Social Security Administration to approve the disability checks. If the disability is severe enough to prevent an individual from performing substantial gainful activity for at least twelve months, then the person is likely eligible to receive benefits from the SSA to compensate for lost wages in the short term. For individuals who are able to work, but must accept a position with significantly reduced wages due to impairments from the car accident, some benefits may still apply.

A marriage is a legal transaction that involves creating a partnership where assets are shared. The dissolution of this partnership through a divorce requires the appropriation and distribution of those assets. Assets that may need dividing are financial holdings, retirement accounts, businesses, and real estate properties. The family home is included among these assets. In the absence of a prenuptial agreement, dividing family assets requires a thorough mediation process.

Ownership of Marital Assets

While many may assume that assets are divided up evenly based upon a dollar amount, that simply isn’t always the case. There is no way to fairly and evenly divide certain assets such as a house, rental properties, or vehicles. This is because it is rare for both partners to enter into a marriage with identical resources. Therefore, any wise divorce lawyer will try to divide assets as equitably as possible between both parties.

It should be noted that assets acquired during the marriage are seen in the eyes of the law as acquired by both parties. It would be simple to see a house as shared marital property, especially if both spouses are included in the mortgage. However, the shared marital property could also include property that technically only has one name from the partnership on paper.

Changes in Asset Value

An additional factor to consider is appreciation, both active and passive. Active appreciation is an addition to the value of assets through direct action, such as deposits and contributions towards investments. These are easy to track with proper documentation. Passive appreciation is the result of outside forces influencing an asset’s value, such as a market supply and demand, inflation and devaluation. Real estate lawyers are keenly aware of these factors and can be an asset in property valuation during divorce proceedings.

Asset Distribution

Redistributing assets is by no means an easy action to take. When it gets down to the matter, dividing up sentimentally valued property and financial holdings accumulated as a team is an exceptionally emotional event. This process can quickly become emotionally charged with everything else that is going on during a divorce. When personal items are thrown up for evaluation, it can leave feelings of bitterness should negotiations break down, and the goal switches from amicable separation to trying to get the best deal from the transaction. As such, a family home can quickly become a difficult asset to divide.

Separating couples can choose to handle this asset in different ways. First, the divorcees can choose to sell the home and divide the profit equally. This is the simplest way to divide the equity of the home. If one spouse does not wish to abandon the family home, he or she can refinance the mortgage to remove the name of the former spouse. This means that the home is no longer a shared asset as the old debt is replaced with a new loan. The spouse retaining the property may need to buy out the other person’s share of the equity. Finally, the asset may continue to be shared. This is a viable option for partners who choose a nesting method for child custody.

 

To beginners, the concept of learning how to successfully buy and sell shares in a company can seem overwhelming. There are plenty of stories out there about people who have made their fortunes learning how to master the stock market and make the right acquisitions at the correct times. However, you can also find plenty of tales of people who have rushed into the landscape too fast and wasted their money in the process. Becoming a successful trader is a process that takes significant time and effort. You’ll need to make sure that you’re evaluating the market carefully, building a successful strategy, and diversifying your investments as you go. So, what do you need to get started?

A Solid Plan

The first step in becoming successful at anything, is having a solid strategy. For share traders, this means thinking about what you want to accomplish with your investments and building a plan to help you reach those goals. A trading plan is something that in the past you might create with the assistance of a financial advisor, and a brokerage team. Today you can also create a plan yourself, using various trading resources that are available online.

Essentially, you determine what it’s going to take to get you to enter a position in a trade, and what might cause you to step back and sell an asset. You’ll also think about things like money management, and how frequently you’re going to buy and sell. Only once you have a solid plan in mind can you start looking for an online stock trading provider that can help you to achieve your goals. As you progress in the industry and learn more about your markets, you can adapt your plan as you go.

The Right Tools

The bar to entry for trading is lower today than it’s been in quite some time. You don’t need to be a huge business owner or have a lot of cash to get started. All you need is an online account with the right brokerage firm, and enough cash to begin building your portfolio. However, there are various other tools that can help you to improve your chances of success. For instance, if you’re a day trader, then you’re going to need an account that allows you to make multiple trades a day, and a computer with a fast internet connection to keep you ahead of the curve. If you’re a beginner in stock trading, a paper account that allows you to practice your skills before you put your money at risk will be an essential step.

Patience

The best investors in the world didn’t make their cash overnight. Even the most effective traders have had to put plenty of time and effort into ensuring that their strategies work. This means that you’re going to need to have a little patience before you can classify yourself as an advanced trader. The more time you put into testing your strategies, reading up about your markets, and learning new skills as you go, the more likely it is that you’ll have what it takes to build a portfolio that actually delivers measurable results. Rush in too quickly, and you could lose everything.

 

Property taxes are generally not dischargeable in bankruptcy. However, homeowners can use the bankruptcy process to help if they fall behind on property taxes to avoid losing a home. Paying property taxes is one of the responsibilities of a homeowner, and failing to do so puts a homeowner at risk of losing a home through the foreclosure process. Chapter 7 bankruptcy provides minimal protection in this instance. However, through Chapter 13, homeowners can include property taxes in the distribution process, buying time to pay back what is owed.

Why Paying Property Taxes Is So Important

Failing to pay property taxes can cause a homeowner to lose the home. When back taxes are owed, the delinquent property taxes, along with the interest and penalties, become a lien on the property. The taxing authority has the right to repossess the home and sell it to satisfy the debt. In addition, if the homeowner has a mortgage on the home, the back property taxes can put the owner in breach of the mortgage contract. As a result, the mortgage provider can repossess the home. Because of this, falling behind on property taxes puts an individual at serious risk of losing a home. This is why many turn to bankruptcy in hopes of finding protection.

Using Bankruptcy to Help with Property Taxes

Property taxes cannot be discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Filing for Chapter 7 still leaves the individual responsible for all back taxes. However, people may be able to use Chapter 13 bankruptcy to help.

Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, a debtor places all of the existing debts into a payment plan that is controlled by a Trustee. Each month, the debtor pays the Trustee a set amount, and then that amount is distributed to the creditors based on a pre-determined repayment schedule. Debtors can include back property taxes in the distribution process. The goal of this repayment plan is to make it something that fits the individual’s budget to make the debts easier to manage.

This buys the debtor time to repay the property taxes. Once the property taxes are in the Chapter 13 distribution, the debtor receives an automatic stay. This prevents the taxing authority and mortgage provider from performing collection activities.

Even though property taxes are not dischargeable in bankruptcy, help is available. Debtors who have fallen behind do not have to lose their home if they take advantage of Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection. With the help of a Chapter 13 repayment plan, debtors can protect the home and avoid the pitfalls of back property taxes.

Chapter 7 and Property Taxes

Though property taxes are not dischargeable in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Chapter 7 may be able to help debtors in other ways. By discharging credit card debt and similar debts, debtors may be able to free up enough money in the budget to address back property taxes. This strategy only works if the home is not in danger of foreclosure yet. Bankruptcy attorneys can help debtors weigh their options to deal with back property taxes.

The USCIS Form I-864 dictates that a US citizen should support their spouse or ex-spouse with an amount of money not less than 125% of the US Poverty Guideline levels. Even after a divorce, the affidavit of support requires US citizens and permanent residents to continue supporting their ex-spouse until the immigrant spouse achieves the following:

• Becomes a United States citizen
• Leaves the country permanently
• Earns 40 work quarters toward social security; this is after about ten years of working.
• Dies

Divorce is not covered by the affidavit of support; hence many American citizens deem it unfair, especially when the divorced immigrant is a wealthy individual or can secure a good job independently.

Challenging Form I-864 in Court

After learning of the dictates of the controversial Form I-864, an American citizen may be compelled to challenge its enforceability in court. This is a lost course since when signing the Affidavit of support, the US citizen or permanent resident spouse agreed to the form’s provisions.

When this form was initially unleashed, many attorneys questioned whether the provisions would be legally enforceable. While the government could sue and be reimbursed for the benefits granted to an immigrant, the form does not provide a direct agreement between the sponsor and the immigrant.

U.S. courts, however, have asserted that a legal obligation exists between the sponsoring spouse and the immigrant spouse.

The Law Does Not Require the Immigrant to Mitigate Damages

The law does not require the ex-spouse immigrant to mitigate the damages by, for instance, making a reasonable effort to secure employment. Many asserted that the courts should hold the immigrant spouses accountable by prompting them to self-support, get a job, or even start a business. The affidavit of support, however, only provides for an immigrant’s claim of support from the sponsor. Nothing in the USCIS form suggests a duty to mitigate damages.

When the Immigrant Spouse Is Living with Someone Else

The Form I-864 provisions mean sponsors must come to terms with the fact that an immigrant ex-spouse could be living a comfortable life with a newly found romantic partner while collecting support from the sponsor. However, since the affidavit of support only applies to the support of the immigrant spouse, the sponsoring spouse is under no obligation to provide support for anyone else with whom the immigrant chooses to reside.

Can a Legal Citizen Sponsor Revoke an Immigration Sponsorship

Unless the immigrant ex dies, becomes a permanent citizen, performs about 10 years of work while paying into the Social Security system, or leaves the country permanently, a sponsor is required to support the immigrant. However, if the sponsorship is still pending and has not been approved, a sponsor could petition to have it canceled. Sponsors can write to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or visit their offices to withdraw sponsorship accordingly.

In some cases, the divorcing parties may also be able to file for revocation if they are both in agreement to peacefully terminate the sponsorship.

An experienced divorce attorney may also be able to negotiate a cash settlement with the immigrant ex-spouse to help the sponsoring spouse avoid ongoing spousal support payments.

Picture this. You’re sitting at the dealership, you sign the last bit of paperwork, and the agent hands you your new set of keys. You are now the proud owner of your own car. What an exciting moment! Owning a car gives you freedom to go anywhere you need to go whenever fits your schedule. But as you prepare for all your adventures in your new car, be sure that you’re keeping all the extra costs of car ownership in mind as well.

Purchasing a car has costs beyond the sticker price. Sure, you put down a down payment and you’ve set up a financing plan, but what about the cost of gas? What about car insurance costs? What happens if something breaks down and you need to get it fixed? The real cost of buying a car comes in these small details. Let’s break down what you need to budget for as we uncover the true cost of car ownership.

Car Insurance

Licensed drivers need car insurance. As with all insurance policies, your auto insurance is there in case you get into an accident and need comprehensive coverage for bodily injury, property damage, or collision coverage. Your auto insurance will also cover some medical expenses if a car accident results in personal injury. Car insurance prices will range based on your auto policy, age, driving record, car make and model, and location. It’s important to shop around for different auto insurance quotes to guarantee you’re getting good insurance coverage at the best price for you. You can directly compare prices online from insurance providers like Geico and Liberty Mutual to give you the peace of mind that you and your car will be taken care of in the event of an emergency — without breaking the bank.

Financing

Chances are you didn’t buy your car outright. Most people set up a financing plan to pay off your car loan over a period of a few years. While this technically is the cost of the car, your financing plan will include interest that you’ll need to financially plan for. Depending on the type of car you purchase, whether it is a new car or a used car, your interest rates and prices may vary. This will also depend on your credit history.

Of course, there are options to buy used cars at a discount that will allow you to purchase your vehicle outright without taking out a loan. For example, cars for sale in ghana are selling for under $5,000. These have financing options that are incredibly reasonable. So if you’re looking to only pay $20-$30 a month, this may be an effective option for you.

Fuel

Your car isn’t going to do much good just sitting in the garage all day, but you need gas to make it go. Putting fuel in your vehicle is another cost to account for. Depending on your driving routine and ever-changing gas prices, this cost can be hard to completely plan for. Just be aware that you’ll need to keep your gas tank full as you travel around in your car.

Maintenance

Ultimately, a car is a machine, and machines can break down. You will need regular maintenance done on your vehicle to guarantee everything stays in proper working order. Search your area for the best deals on repairs, oil changes after you hit a certain mileage, and general maintenance. It also may be a good idea to have some savings set aside in case of a costly emergency you weren’t planning on.

Documentation

Legally, you are not allowed to get behind the wheel of a car without a driver’s license. While this usually isn’t a big cost, you do have to factor that into the cost of owning a car. Beyond just your license, you will need to pay for the title, tags, and license plate. Registering your car can be costly depending on your state, so be prepared for that extra cost.

Did you know nearly 80% of the American working force lives paycheck to paycheck? This is a systemic problem in our society that needs to change. However, that will take time and no small amount of effort.

So what do you do in the meantime if you need money sooner rather than later? What can you do when there’s more month than money?

Your best bet is to look into your finance options. But tread carefully here, as you don’t want to make your financial situation worse.

We’re here to help. Keep reading for your top five options.

1. Take Out a Personal Loan

If you have decent credit, you may be able to take out a traditional personal loan through your bank. However, most unsecured personal loans, even with good credit, come with higher interest rates.

If you plan to pay off the loan within a few months, this isn’t a big deal. However, if you hold onto the loan for several years, you’ll end up paying hundreds of dollars toward credit alone.

2. Use a Credit Card

If you don’t want to apply for another line of credit, you could use your credit card for the funding you need. You can either charge the money straight to the card or take out a cash advance, assuming you have room on it.

However, credit cards have exceedingly high interest rates. There are also additional charges for taking out a cash advance. This should only be used as a last resort.

3. Get a Bad Credit Loan

If you have bad credit but still require a loan, you’re not without finance options. There are companies that cater specifically to people in your situation. These smaller, short-term loans can be life-savers.

Check out your options for bad credit loans to see if they are an appropriate solution for your needs.

4. Take Out a Title Loan

Other finance options include title loans. As the name suggests, these loans provide funding using the title of your car as collateral. Should you fail to pay the loan back or make payments, the bank has the legal authority to repossess your vehicle.

This is a good option for people with poor credit, though it does carry extra risks.

5. Get a Loan From a Friend or Family Member

Finally, if you have friends or family members who have financial security, it may be worth it to approach them for help. You can tell them about your financial needs and ask if they’d be willing to extend a loan to you out of their own pocket.

If you go this route, make it clear that you’ll respect their decision either way. It’s also important that they know you’re taking their contribution seriously. Present a repayment plan to them so they know you’ll make paying them back a top priority.

Looking for More Finance Options and Advice?

We know how easy it is to fall between a rock and a hard place financially. As noted above, most Americans live paycheck to paycheck – all it takes is one financial emergency to throw things out of sync.

If you’re looking for more information and advice about finance options or finance in general, we can help. Be sure to check out some of our other articles before you go.

Eighty-five percent of people who buy a timeshare regret the purchase. Only a small fraction of these buyers, however, move fast enough to cancel their purchase during the legally-mandated recission period. The rest are left with timeshares they do not want or cannot use, and all the costs associated with them.

Unfortunately, figuring out how to get rid of a timeshare is much harder than buying one. Here’s what you need to know about avoiding scams and unloading your timeshare for free.

Timeshare Basics

What is a timeshare and why do people want out of them so badly? As you probably already know, timeshares are a form of vacation property.

Buyers purchase rights to a certain amount of time at a property. In return, they pay annual fees. These fees can be hefty and go up over time, leading many owners to seek a way out.

How to Get Out of a Timeshare

When you buy into a timeshare, you sign a legal contract. Owners who want to get out of timeshare properties often find that doing so is a time-consuming, expensive, and complicated process.

The primary options for getting out of a timeshare include:

• Selling it
• Renting it out
• Gifting or donating it
• Deeding it back to the timeshare company
• Defaulting
• Getting help

Selling

Owners who look into how to sell a timeshare often find that the resale market is a nightmare. The sale process can be long and difficult, and they rarely get back what they invested in the original purchase. Reselling can be a good option, however, for owners who need to recoup some money from the property.

Renting

Renting is another option that sounds good in theory but seldom works in practice. It is time-consuming and difficult to rent out your timeshare if your contract even allows you to do so. Owners are also rarely able to rent their properties for enough to recoup what they are paying in fees.

Gifting or Donating

While is it possible to gift your timeshare to someone, this only works if the other party is willing to fully assume the financial burdens associated with the property. While donating property shares to charity is a popular idea, most legitimate charities will not accept timeshares unless you continue to pay the fees which does you no good.

Moreover, the laws and tax consequences around such gifts can lead to unpleasant situations.

Deeding It Back to the Timeshare Company

Increasingly, timeshare developers are quietly offering programs by which owners can give their timeshare back to the company they bought it from. These programs can be hard to find, as developers intentionally do not advertise them. They can also be expensive, as owners often have to pay several thousand dollars to surrender their shares.

Defaulting

Defaulting is when owners simply stop paying their timeshare fees. While this will eventually result in foreclosure and loss of the property, it can also ruin your credit and finances.

Getting Help

For many owners struggling to get out of timeshare properties for free, the best solution is to get help. Working with specialty companies who deal exclusively with this issue is often the fastest, cheapest, and least stressful solution.

Making Good Financial Choices

Getting rid of a timeshare can be a great choice financially. Find more great information on how to make the best choices for your money in our finance section.

About 90% of Americans can agree on one thing. That one thing is that the tax code it too complicated to understand. That survey was taken in 2017, before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and COVID-19.

If you want to be ready for tax season, you better start planning now. You could be caught off-guard by having to pay more taxes than you expected.

You need to get the most current tax advice to make sure that you are doing everything you can to pay enough taxes during the year. Keep reading to find out what’s changed this year and how you can be ready for tax season.

Standard Deduction Increases

Before COVID-19 rocked the world, one of the changes the IRS announced for the 2020 tax year is that the standard deductions across tax brackets will be increased slightly over 2019. The income amounts for each tax bracket were also adjusted for inflation.

For example, if you’re filing as a single taxpayer or married filing separately, your standard deduction will be $12,400. For married filing jointly, your deduction is $24,800.

PPP Loans and Taxes

Were you impacted by the economic downturn due to COVID-19? Congress stepped up to provide some relief to help companies keep people employed through the CARES Act.

A major part of this legislation is the Payroll Protection Program Loan or PPP Loan. Self-employed people, freelancers, and companies of up to 500 employees were eligible to take out a loan.

At first, companies who spent 75% of the loan in 8 weeks on payroll expenses could have the loan forgiven. Then the threshold was lowered to 65% and people who got their loan after June 8, 2020, could use the loan in 24 weeks.

How would a PPP loan impact your taxes? There are two ways that a PPP loan could affect your taxes. The first is that the forgiven part of the loan doesn’t count as income by the IRS.

However, the IRS did rule that business expenses that you would normally deduct that were paid for by the PPP loan cannot be deducted on your tax returns. The IRS considers that to be double-dipping, and the only way to change that ruling is through an act of Congress.

EIDL Grants and Taxes

Another form of economic relief that was approved through the CARES Act was to extend the SBA’s Economic Injury and Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to apply to those impacted by Coronavirus. These loans usually are reserved for businesses that were impacted by floods and other natural disasters.

The EIDL is available to small businesses and self-employed individuals. One of the selling points of this loan wasn’t loan forgiveness, but the loan advance that came in the form of the grant.

You could get a $1,000 grant within days for every employee in your business up to $10,000. For example, if you have 3 employees, you’d qualify for a $3,000 grant. Self-employed people would get a $1,000 grant.

The caveat of that grant is that the IRS considers it to be income, so you’d have to pay taxes on the amount of money granted to your business since it’s business income. You can still deduct the expenses that were paid for by the loan, so this could still be an advantage for your business.

Payroll Tax Cuts

President Trump authorized the ability for businesses to elect to take a payroll tax cut starting on September 1, 2020. If a business did elect to take this opportunity, they can defer 6.2% of payroll taxes. Some employees may be able to have 6.2% added to their paychecks, too.

However, this isn’t a type of tax forgiveness. Only Congress can do that. This is just a deferment through the end of the year.

You and your employees would still have to owe that money next year. This could add up to a larger tax bill and more money is taken out of your employee’s paychecks when they least expect it.

How to File Taxes

Now that you understand the changes this year, how can you make sure that you’re ready to file your tax return? Start by planning now.

You want to make sure that you’re paying enough taxes during the year. You’ll have to pay estimated taxes every quarter if you will owe more than $1,000 to the IRS. You can figure out how much you owe based on your previous year’s return. If your income dipped this year, you can use your profit and loss statements as a guideline.

You’ll also need to get your documentation together and keep records of everything. If you got a PPP or EIDL loan, you need to make sure you can track what those loans paid for.

One major change that’s related to documentation has to do with the 1099-MISC forms that are sent to independent contractors. These forms are no longer in use as of 2020. Instead, you’re supposed to use the 1099-NEC form, which is being revived by the IRS.

Work with a Tax Professional

If you’ve relied on doing taxes yourself over the last several years, this is the year where you want to reconsider your stance. Since tax returns are bound to be incredibly complicated this year, you’ll want to hire a tax professional.

You can expect tax rules to change between now and Tax Day 2021. It’s incredibly important to stay up to date on all of the tax changes.

Tax Advice for a Long, Strange Year

The year 2020 will be remembered for many things: unexpected losses, a global pandemic, economic crises, and a major push towards lasting social and systemic changes.

There are more changes in-store when you do your tax returns. The tax advice presented here is to get you to start thinking about your taxes and how you can be prepared. Your best bet to make sure you have everything in order is to consult with a tax professional.

For more ways to be financially sound, be sure to visit the Finance section of this site.

In 2019, consumer debt rose 6.9% to a record of $4.19 trillion in December.

Many of us have personal debt whether it’s paying off a vacation, necessities, or just bad spending habits. Regardless, it’s important to know how to deal with debts so you can pay them off as fast as possible.

Not sure how? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are nine tips on how to manage your personal debt.

1. Create a Monthly Bill Payment Calander

One of the most important debt management tips is to know who and how much you owe. First, list your debts and include the creditor, total amount of debt, monthly payment, and due date.

Having everything recorded lets you see the bigger picture so you know which ones to pay off first. This should be the debt with the lowest balance first.

You should refer to this list whenever you pay bills and update it as the amount of what you owe changes. A way to improve your debt management is by creating a bill payment calendar.

Write each bill’s payment next to the due date and add the date you get paid. Again, this will show you which bills to pay with which paycheck.

You could also consider any assets you can sell, perhaps a recreational vehicle or a second car. Turn in your new one and buy a quality used car as it will save you thousands.

And never be ashamed to ask family or friends for financial help. If you do this, create a detailed outline of repayment expectations so there are no misunderstandings.

Or, if possible, consider refinancing your mortgage so it lowers your monthly payment.

2. Pay Your Bills On Time

Late payments make it harder to pay off your debt because you’re often charged with a late fee whenever you miss one. And if you miss two consecutive payments, your interest rate and finance charges will increase.

Set an alarm a few days before each payment so you don’t miss it. If you do, send your payment as soon as you remember it’s missed to try to avoid penalties.

If you’re really struggling, browse debt relief companies to find one who can help you or consider personal loans.

3. Strive to Pay More Than the Minimum

To manage your debt, pay more than the minimum otherwise it’ll take ages to pay off your balance even if it’s an extra $50 per month.

And if you can only make the minimum, pay it. Although it doesn’t make fast progress, the minimum makes sure you’re not paying for late fees.

4. Pay off Expensive Debts First

A good way to manage debt is to make minimum payments except for your biggest one. Find the one charging you the most interest and focus on paying that one off first.

When you’ve paid the most expensive one off, take all the money you were paying and focus on the next most expensive debt. Keep doing this until you’ve reached the least costly debt and it’ll get you out of debt quicker.

5. Outline a Monthly Budget to Plan Your Expenses

Your monthly budget must be realistic enough that you can cover expenses. Plan in advance and adjust it early if you don’t have enough money for your bills this month or the next.

A budget also highlights any surplus money which you can use to pay off your debts. But it’s important to track what you actually spend otherwise your plan won’t work.

The plan will teach you about your spending habits so you know where to cut back.

6. Spend Less than You Plan to Spend

Although it’s tempting, don’t buy everything on your wish list especially when you can’t afford it. Many people get into debt because they buy without considering their paycheck or bank account.

Try to be satisfied with less so you can use the money you’ve saved to pay off your debt. You may eventually find your priorities have changed and you start building up an emergency fund or adding to your pension.

7. Reduce Your Grocery Bill

In 2019, American households spend 9.5% of their budget on food.

There are many ways to save money on groceries like bulking up on items that are on sale or do one large shop a month. Stockpile non-perishable goods like canned goods, cereal, items you can freeze like bread.

8. Get a Second Job

Many people in debt get a second job or pick up an extra shift. It’s not practical for everyone but if you can, consider it as you could be debt-free quicker than you think.

To make this work, funnel your extra income to debt repayment so gradually reduce it. Once everything’s paid off, you can return to your normal life.

9. Speak With a Credit Counsellor

If you’re in debt and feel bankruptcy is your only way out, contact a credit counselor. A reputable one will look at your situation and find a realistic option so you can start reducing your debt.

You’ll be surprised how much you’ll learn through these sessions so it’s important to act quickly.

That’s How to Deal With Personal Debt

Now you know nine surefire ways to handle your personal debt.

It’s important to create a monthly bill calendar so you know which payments are the most important. Aim to pay off the expensive bills first and aim to cover more than the minimum so you make quick progress.

If you’re struggling, consider debt relief companies or a credit counselor to guide you throughout the process. Good luck!

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