If you’re currently in debt (and who isn’t these days), the best thing you can do for yourself is to make yourself aware of debts you have out there. In my last post, I recommended getting your credit report. This can be useful for what we’re about to do.
I’d like you to make a spreadsheet of all of your outstanding debts. I’m a sucker for a spreadsheet! These debts will be any loans to a company or to a person. Using your last statement or by logging into the online account, make a list that has the following items:
- Name of Loan
- Original Loan Amount
- Interest Rate
- Payoff Amount (Amount of Loan left till it’s paid off)
- Minimum Monthly Payment
- Monthly Payment Typically Made
I then recommend adding up the payoff amount so that you can see exactly how much money you owe. Adding up the columns for the minimum amount due and what you typically pay will give you an idea of how much of your money is actually going to debts.
Once you’ve got your list, you can look into “Snowball” payments and such as recommended by Dave Ramsey.