4 Ways to Tackle Your Debt Loads

Towering household debt is defining Canada’s economic landscape. With plenty of heavily indebted households, the country’s economy is far from certain, Maclean’s reports.

Good thing a lot of Canadians are doing their best to deal with their debt loads. Find yourself in the same boat? Here are practical tips to help you tackle your debt.

Change your mindset

If you’re still thinking: “What’s one more debt?” then you may have too much debt on your hands already. Imagine if you were to lose your job. Do you have an emergency fund? Can you pay off your credit card balances? If you’re finding yourself on shaky ground, then you’ll want to start cutting back on your spending.

Know how much you owe

The best way to get out of debt is to know what you owe. If many of your cards are on auto-pay and you don’t pay much attention to your statements, you may not realize how much debt you have. Sit down and do the math.

Track your expenses

Once you know how much, you can start making plans. The first thing to do? Track your expenses over the past few months. Once you know what you’ve been spending money on, it’s easier to identify which of those purchases weren’t wise at all.

Make a budget

Set a budget and stick to it. Now that you’re aware of your spending limitations, you’re in a better position to ask yourself: do I need this? Do that when you think about buying something. That’s going to help you avoid unwise buying decisions.

Earn extra

Spend less, save more. That’s how the saying goes. If you see your balances go down, but you still want to do more, then look into opportunities that would allow you to earn extra income. That extra income can go a long way to lower your debt loads.

Spend less on food

Find ways to cut back on your food spending. Limit eating out. Prepare your meals at home and bring packed lunches and snacks to work. That’s going to save you a lot of money.

Keep learning

Don’t stop learning. Once you see your debt going lower, you’ll want to keep learning how to spend less. Turn it into a habit. That way, you won’t have to find yourself in the same situation again.

Get help

If it feels like you’re standing in quicksand and never getting out, get help. Contact a 4 Pillars consultant in Victoria. Learn how debt restructuring can help you. Talk to a 4 Pillars consultant in Victoria today.