It’s the New Year and most of us are trying to recover from massive hangovers. I’m not speaking about the after effects of too much partying, although this could well be the case. The hangover I’m referring to is a financial hangover.

Over the holiday season, Australians used credit cards like never before, with retailers recording one of their busiest years to date. Despite warnings from the RBA and business media, Australians went crazy this year accruing further credit card debt.

As it stands, Australians have more credit card debt per capita than our American counterparts and this trend is set to be rising. Following on from this is the effect personal debt has on inflation and interest rates leading many economic speculators to believe that the RBA will raise interest rates in February 2008. Other commentators believe if this doesn’t happen the banks will surely raise rates themselves without an official rate rise, in order to mitigate the affect of the sub-prime disaster in the US.

So what’s the cure for a financial hangover? The answer is simple, cut back the spending and pay off some debt. This is probably easier said than done but there are a number of debt management strategies that you can use to help.

Firstly, and most importantly you should look at your budget. A budget is necessary starting point so you know how much you earn, where you money goes and who you owe money to. Debt Fix has developed a fantastic budget planner located at www.debtfix.com.au and best of all, it’s free.

Next, you need look at who you owe money to and how much is owed. If you are struggling, contact you credit provider and tell them. They will most likely suggest a repayment plan, but make sure it’s affordable before you agree to anything.

Some people with more serious debt problems might consider using a debt solutions company like Debt Fix.

Debt Fix can speak with your creditor on you behalf and find solutions that are affordable and sustainable. When it comes to finding a debt relief solution, Debt Fix is expert in its field and when it comes to your debt problems, Debt Fix can give free, expert advice.

So why not look at 2008 as an opportunity to put your debt problems behind you and embrace a brighter financial future.

Debt Fix is a company that actively encourages the promotion of greater debt management awareness. Debt Fix helps people struggling in debt through free debt assessments and providing free advice and options for people looking for a solution to manage their debts more efficiently

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One of the biggest challenges that many people face when trying to pay off debt is finding money to apply towards their debts. In order to pay off your debt, you have to pay more than the minimum payment, but this can be hard to do when you’re having trouble just making ends meet each month.

So where can you find additional money to apply to your credit card debts each month? Here are several ideas:

Tax refund: Do you typically get a large tax refund each year? If you do, then you can apply part or all of the refund to your debts. In addition, you should adjust your withholding so that less taxes are withheld from each check; you’ll get a smaller income tax refund, but you’ll have more money to apply towards your debt payments each month. The last thing you want to do is give Uncle Sam an interest free loan when you have high interest credit cards!

Savings: Nobody wants to cash out their savings account to pay off credit card debt, but when you have credit cards that are costing you 18% or more in interest each month and your savings are only earning 4% (or less), it just makes sense to use some of your savings to get rid of that nasty credit card debt.

Bonuses, raises and overtime: Anytime you get a raise, bonus or earn overtime, you should use at least a portion of that money to pay towards your debt. Since this is “extra” money that you didn’t have before, you shouldn’t miss the money that you put towards your debt.

Part time or temporary work: If you’re really in a debt bind, consider getting a part time, seasonal or temporary job. It doesn’t have to be forever, just long enough to pay off or at least make a dent in your debt.

Sell things: Another option is to sell things to raise money. Have a yard sale or sell items no longer used on eBay. Sell books that you no longer read on Amazon or Half.com. You’ll be surprised at how much some items will sell for on an online auction!

Borrow from family and friends: Everyone hates to ask family and friends for money, but if you’re in over your head and you have family members in a position to help, this is an option you shouldn’t ignore. If it helps, you can draw up a written agreement so that each party knows what to expect, and there’s no chance for disagreements or hard feelings down the road.

Borrow against your home equity: This is not an option to take lightly. Yes, you can reduce the interest you are paying on your debts significantly by taking out a home equity loan, but remember that your home is at risk if you are unable to make the payments for any reason. Choose this option only if you are 110% sure that you can continue to make your payments, even in the event of a job loss or other emergency.

Reduce spending: Although listed last, this is probably the first strategy you should take to find extra money to pay off debts. You should review your spending to see if there are any areas that you can cut back on to generate additional cash to be applied towards your debt. Some typical areas that can be cut back on, at least temporarily, to help pay off debt include food (both groceries and eating out), entertainment (gym memberships, magazine subscriptions, cable, internet, trips to the book store) and personal care (haircuts, clothing, housekeeping, etc.).

These are just a few suggestions on how you can find money to help pay down your debts quicker. There are hundreds of other ways you can find money to use towards your debt if you are motivated to look for them. Continue reading this post…

If your credit card debt was accumulated over a long period of time it can seem like the problems it creates sort of snuck up on you. But once this debt starts intruding into your financial stability then it becomes time to seek some form of relief from the problems high balances can have. You will have to accept that it may take some time and patience to pay down those balances and it will require some sacrifices to be made in the area of how much you spend each month.

The first step on the road to credit card debt relief is to stop using them. To help you accomplish this the best thing to do is destroy the things. Cut them up, shred them, burn them, or throw them in the blender but the point is the temptation to use them will be too great if you keep them around even if you have no intention of using them.

The next step is to create a little credit card mini budget. This will give you a clearer idea of how much you owe and the ability to start prioritizing your debt payment plan. Too many people are unsure of what they owe and how much the interest is costing them each month so listing out their debts is usually provides quite a shock once they see it all written down.

The best way to start your budget is to gather up all your statements from the past month, get a piece of paper and a pencil, and in the first column make a list of all the credit cards you have by name or company. Then make four more columns and write down the balance owed, minimum payment, interest rate, and interest paid for each card. Add those columns up and you will know exactly how much you owe, how much is going out in minimum payments, and how much interest you are paying out every month. If your figures are like the majority of peoples who suffer from high credit card debt you will see exactly why you need to destroy all your cards.

Now that you know what you owe and to whom it is time to devise a strategy to pay those balances down, because until you do so your financial future is mathematically on hold. There are several trains of thought on the best way to pay down card balances, some of which include paying the highest interest rate off first and working your way down, paying off the highest balance first and working your way down to the lowest, or doing the opposite and paying off the lowest balance first and working your way up. All three choices work well but it will take discipline on your part to stick with the plan until you are debt free.

Just remember that once you find relief from credit card debt you should endeavor to stay debt free and let your money go to work for you, instead of some big bank using your hard earned paycheck for their own wealth building purposes.

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New Year means new moves.

As we said sayonara to 2007, we bid hello to a year of fresh starts. And what way to start this year than to trim down on our debts.

I know, everyone of us have debts in one way or another. Maybe painful to admit, but borrowing is something that is almost next to the inevitable things on earth. Once or more occasions in our lives were forces to owe someone money. We make promises to pay them off as soon as possible but they end up piling faster than the birds migrate south during winter.

Slowly but surely

There have been a gazillion money saving tips on being debt-free in this lifetime and we tend to take them seriously at first but eventually we fall from grace and set them aside with the thought of a promising tomorrow. But thing is, they won’t go away when we wake up. They’ll hunt us till we want to just sleep all the time so we don’t have to stressed out. So, here are five money saving tips on slowly but surely taking out debts out of our system.

1. Don’t treat the past as past

When it comes to debt, anyway. Surely, we had things that we regret spending on. So, the first way to being debt-free is to take note of our “spending shortcomings” in the not-so-distant past and make sure that we will NOT do them again. Looking back isn’t enough, learn from them.

2. Put pay the bills on the of your must-do list

This may sound stressful because we all try to evade bills talk as much as we can. But facing the reality that they will be there even if we move houses will lessen our worries. Make sure that your first priority on pay day will be to pay the bills.

3. Flush a portion of your bonuses to your outstanding debts

The last month of the year was THE month for bonuses. So, if there’s still something left, use them to pay your debts.

4. Pay-off your outstanding credit card balances

Be content with just one card. If you have more than one, examine the one which you regularly use and a higher limit and payoff the ones which you rarely swipe. This way, you have gotten rid of a considerable percent of your debts.

5. Keep track of what you owe

Adding to this tip, check them regularly. It’s somewhat stressing but the rewards are very fruitful. For a more interactive approach, you can log on to geezeo.com and wesabe.com. These two websites will be able to show your financial activities.

6. Earn extra

Sometimes, no matter how we live frugally, it all comes down to the fact that we don’t earn enough. So, why don’t you opt for a second job. It may be lesser hours or a full-time one but the bottom line is, we need to earn more to get rid of our debts and by earning more, we owe less.

Easier said than done

Know that these money saving tips spell easy to do. Decreasing our debts is hard to do. The challenge is to do them one day at a time.

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My husband and I ran a business from our house. We were in business for about twenty years. All of a sudden we started loosing accounts. The big accounts went first. Then we lost the small accounts. Everyday was so stressful. I cried over the bills piling up. I cried over losing our business. I could not figure out what to do.

I had been using our credit cards to keep us going. If we needed something for the business I used a credit card. I used credit cards to pay the bills. It got to the point that I was paying each of the credit card bills with another credit card. Finally the credit cards were all overdue and maxed out. I could not rely on my credit cards anymore. I knew we had to do something to get out of debt.

My husband told me to get all the credit cards we had and cut them up. That was our plan to get out of debt. I nearly passed out. There was no way I could cut up the credit cards. But finally I started cutting up credit cards. I nearly cried. I could not even put them in the trash. I put all the pieces in a big coffee mug and put it on a shelf. This was one of the hardest things I have ever done. At first, trying to live without a credit card was extremely difficult. But as time went by I learned to live without them. I learned to pay cash for things. I used the layaway services at a couple of the stores in our town to purchase bigger items.

There is a peace that comes from living within your means. There is a peace that comes when you try to get your finances under control.

We have a long way to go. But we keep trying. We keep learning knew things.

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