Debt is something that we can all relate to. Debt is the boogeyman at the back of all our adult lives, threatening to consume us all. Consumer debt can come from several sources. Credit cards, car payments, school loans, home loans, and personal loans. The sources of debt are too numerous for this article.
Recent studies showed that 80% of Americans were in debt, and nearly half (47%) of U.S. adults, or about 120 million people, currently have credit card debt. This is up from 43% reported in early March. However, there is a bright side to this pall of economic woe which covers many of our lives. You can eventually become debt-free and not have to worry about a life of repayment to financial institutions, or collectors. Once this happens, it feels a bit easier to breathe, and life feels a bit brand new. To get back on your feet after clearing your debt, here are a few tips.
Look into investing and saving your money.
Now that you’re “caught up” with eliminating your debt, why not try saving your money, or maybe even investing it? Try adding money to an emergency savings bank account, or start saving money in a retirement account. On the investment front, look into placing your money into Yieldstreet reviews, check into alternative investing, find a good investment opportunity like purchasing a piece of fine art, figure out ways to contribute to the stock market, or even research buying/contributing to stocks and bonds.
Digging a bit more into Yieldstreet investing, YieldStreet is a crowdfunding platform that specializes in asset-backed investments. This investment platform is for accredited Yieldstreet investors, unlike other crowdfunding sites operating in the space. The crowdfunding nature of Yieldstreet removes the barriers which normally exist for clients who are coming from outside the investment community.
It’s best to find a financial advisor who can help you to invest in the stock market, look into alternative investing, or who can help with figuring out how to navigate a yieldstreet wallet, and yieldstreet investments. These individuals are trained to figure out how best to save and invest your money. Doing due diligence and making one important phone call for assistance on the investing front can help your money to grow with time.
Treat Yourself
You can congratulate yourself on a job well done. No more calls from a collection agency, collection company, or financial institution. Eliminating debt is a huge life marker and should be treated as such. You can treat yourself, to maybe a nice meal with friends, a fun weekend in the city, or maybe even taking a bucket list vacation to New York. Remember, when you’re mired in debt, doing things like this could either keep you in debt or they weren’t even on your radar because you didn’t have enough money to do these things.
In addition to doing something fun being a reward, it can also help you alleviate some of that stressful mental baggage that comes with being in debt. There’s an overriding fear of staying debt-ridden for the rest of your life that a lot of adults have. Once you shed that weight, things begin to feel a bit better.
Stop using credit cards.
Just like Kathy Bates might say in The Water Boy, “Credit cards are the devil.” Now, not saying that credit cards are the plastic embodiment of the dark lord of the underworld, they do bring in tow a lot of stress and worry. Credit cards are quick fixes to big problems. These cards only allow you a temporary reprieve from whatever they might have been used for.
At the end of the day, you have to pay back whatever a loan provider has given you in the way of credit, plus interest. Why go back down that rabbit hole? You just dug yourself out of a life of paying humongous sums of money back to a lender. Don’t go back there again, so you won’t be on the receiving end of debt collection law firms.
Revisit your budget.
Now that you’ve settled a major financial expense of debt, you’ll want to check your finances. Check-in every couple of months to see what your budget is looking like. Maybe even figure out what your annual income will look like. Your life can bring extra expenses, pay increases, pay decreases, and a variety of other instances that can affect your budget. Checking your budget (and your credit report) on a regular basis will help to keep your finances stable. Performing such actions can also help to avoid a collection agency from making a collection call or two once you become debt-free.
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