How I did it….
Write down all your debts on paper including all your credit card bills, mortgages, car loans and any other personal debts you may have. Find out the balance, interest rate and monthly payment on each. Let your credit counseling company know.
- Figure out how much you can pay on each debt and when you can realistically complete paying back the loan. An
example of this would be if you pay $40,000 for your car at the end of 15 years. If you have any questions on this step, it is best that you ask a financial adviser. - As you are going over and reviewing all of your available options, always have your final numbers in mind. You should be asking yourself questions like how long will it take you to pay off your new loan and will it cost you more money over the long run? If any of your answers are not to your liking then you may be forced with just sticking it out with your existing loans, even if payments are a little higher.
- Expertly knowing and navigating the in’s and out’s of various loan programs requires a lot of heavy duty number crunching. If you don’t think you are up to the task, again hire the help of a financial adviser.
You can save paying on the interest by making higher monthly payments than the minimum on a regular basis than you need to. This will also cuts down the number of years you will be paying on the loan significantly.
