Taphephobia- the fear of being buried alive

If you’re reading this, then you probably have some unsightly debt lurking around. I too have been in that sullen place before and it was overwhelming, I even acquired a small debt in 2011.

I will be more than happy to never return to Debtland again. Depending on how much debt you’ve found yourself in, it can seem difficult or even impossible to dig out. If you really want to dig yourself out, then your odds of doing so immensely increase.

Not every situation is the same, but by sharing my past experience at eliminating debt it might help you too.

Step 1- Reality

This might sound simple, but oftentimes when we’re in debt, we’re not exactly sure how deep. Personally, I didn’t want to know at all—like maybe it would go away if I ignored it. Nope! All ignoring it did was make it grow larger (d@mn, I could have sworn that was a good idea).

I guess I should have remembered that from the first time. So the first step is to lay it all out in front of you. Even if this sounds dumb or a bit scary, it’s really the first step. How can you make a plan to pay it off when you don’t really know the details?

Actions to take:

• Grab a sheet of paper or a spreadsheet (whichever you prefer) and start your engines. You want to list who you owe, how much you owe them, interest rates, minimum payments and a contact phone number for each debt. You can look through statements, recent letters from collection agencies, in online accounts or even call them up if you need to.
• Stop using credit until your debt is gone and you can do so responsibly.

After completing this 1st step, which probably doesn’t take as long as you think, I’d say you’re at 10% of digging yourself outta debt. Congrats! Many people don’t even do this, so you’re already ahead. Want to gain another 10%…keep an eye out for Step 2.

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakka/1628979772/