Are You in Debt Trouble?

Some of our visitors have substantial amounts of debt, but they're not sure if the situation is serious enough to warrant professional help. Here, we'll describe the symptoms that usually mean you're in serious debt trouble.

Red Flags of Debt Disaster

You may have become so inured to being bogged down by high-interest debt, that you're blind to the signs of debt disaster. If one or more of the following red flags applies to your situation, you may be in need of a professional service like debt elimination. Here are a few benchmarks to help you gauge the health of your financial situation:

• Your housing costs (e.g., rent, mortgage, utilities, home insurance, etc.) should not consume more than 30% of your monthly take-home pay. If your housing costs exceed this percentage, you may have a problem with your fixed costs or secured debt.
• Your non-housing debt (credit cards, car loans, etc.) should not consume more than 20% of your take-home pay. If your debt payments exceed 20%, you might want to look into a service like debt elimination that can help reduce your interest rates and lower your monthly payment obligations.
• You borrow from one lender to pay another. You shouldn't be relying on balance transfers to make credit card payments. If you are, it's time to get professional help.
• You have no clue how much you owe or you don't open your bills as soon as they arrive. Ignoring or delaying the inevitable will not help your financial situation. This could be one of the signs of debt denial, in which case debt elimination might be able to help you face your financial problems more honestly.

Don't Panic

So you've read the red flags of debt disaster, and one or more of them described your situation to a tee. Don't panic, though, because there is a way out. You can sign up for a free consultation with a debt elimination service for starters. In the meantime, here are some immediate actions you can take to begin remedying the problem:

1. Take a half hour sometime in the next week to sit down and make a list of ways you can cut spending and save more.
2. Create or revise a household budget.
3. Write a list of purchases you could cut out each month, such as unread magazine subscriptions, unused gym memberships, car washes, dinners out, etc. You can then apply these savings to paying down debt.
4. Prioritize your accounts according to interest rate. Your highest-interest accounts should be your number-one priority. If you sign up for debt elimination, you won't have to worry about this because all of your interest rates will be radically reduced.

If you have any questions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.