BULL’S EYE ADVICE ON HOW TO BEAT THE DEBT CHALLENGE

Step 2: Assess the extent of your debt

You need to be brutal with yourself. Often, we try to palm off our financial worries, fooling ourselves into underestimating the extent of the problem. But you cannot start extricating yourself from the financial mire until you know exactly how much you owe and to whom you owe it. Working out the truth of what you owe, as scary as it may be, is one of the first steps on the road to recovery.

Use the following table as a guide to help you create an accurate picture of your finances. As with this example, record every one of your creditors, with all the relevant details. Don’t worry about the order, just make sure it’s all written down.

Already, the picture should be getting clearer. You can start to work out which creditors are costing you the most in terms of monthly spend and interest.

For example, in the case above, the credit card from Bank 1 is charging 4% more than the credit card from Bank 2. Perhaps you should focus on paying off that card first, or you could try to transfer all that debt to the second card. (See Step 7, p57.) Also, your car loan will be paid off in October 2009. If you refrain from buying a new car, this will free up some extra money to pay off your overdraft and Edgars account.

For individuals or even companies that that just need some sound advice on how to overcome the debt spiral contact:

Charl ten Oever
Bull’s Eye Financial Consultants, a Certified Financial Planner,
Tel: 011 465 0508
Cell: 079 926 9504
Web: www.bullseye.co.za

Previous steps:

• Step 1: Confront the problem - click here