Eliminate debt : Find Your Bad Habit and Break It

In the Introduction step, I mentioned that there are nearly 15 million Americans who are compulsive shopper. Things like Amazon’s One-Click don’t help that. So, as a rule of thumb, don’t turn on the One-Click, and if possible, don’t keep card numbers stored in web accounts. That way, when you want to buy something online, you have to go, find the card, and type the info in. Take this time to breathe deep, and figure out if this is really something you need. If necessary, wait for at least a month before buying doing any big transaction. Bankcruptcy is like a tiger waiting for a compulsive shopper to shop and shop and shop until he exceed that limit. That is when it jumps at him and eat him alive.

Also, we’ve all fallen victim to the thrill of gambling; it seems like an easy way to get out of debt quick and easy. Don’t do it. This is especially difficult in the world of online gambling because the temptation is always there. My dad always told me “if it sounds too good to be true, it is” the same is true for gambling. Especially online, there’s a reason website offer 100% deposit bonuses, they know they’ll get your money regardless.

THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Take the time to sit down, and dig deep, find out what got you in debt in the first place, and tackle it. Dig into your subconscious and find out what that bad habit is. The first step is figuring out the root of the problem. Once you do that you’re well on your way to living debt free.

Eliminate debt : Live Life in Moderation

After you’ve consolidated your debt, you need to stop negative cash flow if at all possible. What does this mean? Well, if you see a TV that you really want, don’t put it on a new card, don’t finance it, open up a new bank account, and put away a few dollars every month to save up for it. This is similar to the layaway
option many stores offer. Personally, I would delay the purchase for a month. That way I have all the time I can have to ponder, think and even dream about whether I really need that item. Usually by end of the month, the urge would have dissipated significantly if not at all gone.

Do you like to eat out? I sure know I do, but I only eat out ONCE a week. Why? Because eating out is expensive, really expensive. $20 here $20 there might not seem like much, but it will add up, quick. If you eat out just once a week, you can save quite a bit of money in a very short amount of time. Try to make your own meal and pack it up and bring it to work if you have to. This would both save you money and give you a sense of achievement being able to serve yourself a meal every day.

This last tip seems to break everyone. Stop buying something every time you stop the car. What does that mean? When you fill up your gas tank, don’t buy a Coke. Or, to put it another way, those small purchases add up. $2 for a coffee doesn’t seem like much, but if you buy a $2 coffee every working day for a month that’s $125 that could go to paying off your debt. Trust me, that's a lot of money if count how much time you spent worrying on your debt.

Eliminate debt - Shred Your Credit Cards

Credit card is one of ways of people accumulating huge debt due to its late payment fees and huge interest on the balance. The debt interest rate is between 18-24% for some major banks.

THIS IS IMPORTANT!
I’m not saying you should cancel your account and shred your cards; I’m simply saying shred the cards. It hurts your credit score every time you cancel a card, but that doesn’t mean you can’t shred them and make them useless. The idea here is to burn the bridges for you to be able to accumulate debt from using your credit cards. Opt to pay with cash. This way you will feel the pinch of having to hand over cash.

The same principle lies in card you have stored on websites, virtually
“shred” the cards, by deleting them from your accounts at web stores. Make it so
that no matter what you try, you can NEVER recover that card number.

Don’t stop paying them, that might sound stupid but I have a friend who
though “The card doesn’t physically exist, I no longer owe them money” this is
obviously false, you still owe them. Keep paying it as you would regularly. Otherwise your debt will only get bigger due to the late payments and interest. The other method you'd like to try is to get a lower interest monthly payment from a Debt consolidation company.

Eliminate debt - introduction

In this economy it can be really easy to let debt take over your life. In this book I’m not only going to give you 10 basics steps to get you back on to the road of living life without debt, I’m going to teach you something about yourself. If you’re the average American, then that means you’ve had a credit card since the day you turned 18, and you can’t remember the last time you paid it off in full.

You might also be one of the nearly 15 million Americans that has a compulsive shopping disorder. Or you might have a problem with gambling, or a number of other things that are associated with accumulating debt.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to make you feel bad, or like you did something wrong. In my country, Singapore, (and much of the world) we’re trained from birth to be in debt. We’re told our entire lives that if you don’t have plastic then you’re not one of the cool people. Or, if you don’t carry a balance on every one of your credit cards you’ll never be able to get a mortgage. Well, I’m here to tell you that’s bull, total and utter bull.

I will be releasing tips regularly to help you get rid of your debt. Make sure that you follow them carefully. Be focused and have discipline. This is your precious life we're talking about! Take control of it!