There are no quick fixes

There are no quick fixes in getting out of debt. Whether you are doing it yourself or with an advisor, getting out of debt will take time.

Depending on the amount of debt, it could take weeks, months or even years.

Debt snowballing, quick method to small debt

One of the quickest methods, when doing it your self, is through debt snowballing. This is where you put extra money towards your lowest debt and then. 

When that is paid off, you use the money you were paying with, towards the next debt until you have no debt left. http://kasheringyourlife.co.za/snowballing-year-round/

I follow financial advisor, Dave Ramsey. On one his Instagram page some families post pictures once they are free of debt after following his methods. Check out his Instagram page for inspiration https://www.instagram.com/p/B1b_2nknBDC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Another step in debt recovery is changing your spending habits. This is not easy; it takes discipline and requires the cooperation of the entire family.

Do yourselves a favour and watch Sanlam’s ‘One Rand Family’ at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxiypT1IbCE. It is old but very interesting and while we can’t replicate this, there is great advice highlighted in the videos that everyone can use.

Envelope Budgeting

One of my most successful methods of staying in a budget was, and still is, envelope budgeting. This is where you allocate different envelopes to different categories filled with the cash you will need for that month. You may only use the cash in the envelopes to pay your monthly household expenses. http://kasheringyourlife.co.za/envelope-budgeting/

This is after things like your bond/rent, water and lights, cars and other large expenses have been paid.

Some steps that might help towards getting you out of debt and keeping you debt-free are:

• Debt snowballing
• Envelope budgeting
• Meal planning
• Creating a budget
• Keeping track of your till slips
• Changing your lifestyle
• Using coupon and cashback apps

Without the cooperation of your household and family members, this journey will be much more difficult.

Don’t keep your financial difficulties hidden from your children.

Educate Your Children

If they are teenagers they need to learn from you and they will need to pitch in. Younger children will learn by example. If they see you looking at prices in the store, only paying cash for what you buy, and being financially disciplined and aware, they are less likely to get into debt themselves.

The only debt any of us should have is a housing bond or a student loan.

The ideal situation should be to have at least 3-6 months’ salary in a savings account as an emergency fund.

You will find that building up an emergency fund is almost impossible when you are in debt. I have found that the more debt you have the more emergencies you have.

Join the conversation on our Facebook group (debt-free)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/iamdebtfree/