If you’re wondering how to plan your debt, let’s walk through everything involved in getting on top of this overwhelming task and show you how easy it can be to prepare for bad credit debt consolidation loans to simplify your burdens.
List your debts.
Once you have a list of your debts, it’s time to review them individually and fill out more information. Before we get into what to write down, here are some recommendations.
- If you have any late payments or unpaid bills on your credit report, make sure you add them.
- List the interest rate of each debt. This will help you determine which debts should be paid off first since they will cost the most in interest.
- List the monthly payment amount for each debt. You may not know this offhand, so call each creditor and ask for an estimate of how much it would cost per month if you were to pay off their balance immediately (before considering any other expenses).
- Make sure to enter how long it will take until each loan is fully paid off using this method.
Identify what you owe and who you owe it to.
This includes credit cards, store cards, personal loans, and overdrafts on your bank account. Print out your bank statements and tally up the amounts owed to each creditor to get a clear picture of your debt. It is also essential to note any late payments or unpaid bills.
This information will form the basis for the following steps, so ensure it’s correct before going forward.
Categorize in order of interest rate.
Is it the highest to lowest? What about if you have a variable interest rate loan or credit card? If that’s the case, you’ll need to keep track of the interest rates for each debt and then put them in order based on those.
Once you’ve got everything listed according to their current (or expected) monthly repayments and interest rates, it’s time to make some choices.
Identify the highest rates of interest first.
If you have more than one bad debt credit consolidation loans with the same rate, list them in the order you want to repay them. If you have debts with different interest rates, list them in charge of the lowest interest rate first.
List monthly payment amounts.
- List the monthly payment amounts for each debt.
- Identify the amount of each payment and the date it is due.
- Include any other expenses you must pay each month, such as rent/mortgage and utilities (e.g., electricity, gas).
If you’re not sure how much you pay each month, it can be a little tricky to know how much you can afford. If your debt repayment amount varies monthly, try to identify an average amount for your monthly repayments.
Stagger payments by the due date.
List your debt in order of due date, from the earliest repayment date to the latest. List them again in order of payment amount; that is, which debt requires the most significant monthly payment.
Add a category for miscellaneous expenses.
If you’re unsure what miscellaneous expenses might come up; it’s best to add a category for everything. It would be wise to have an “emergency fund” category where costs such as credit to friends could be placed until the time comes when your friend pays back all that money with interest.
There are always expenses that come up throughout the year, such as car registrations or insurance payments. Add a category just in case something unexpected arises so you won’t fall behind on repayments.
Conclusion.
Now that you have this plan, it is crucial to stick to it. This will ensure that you do not fall behind on any repayments and keep your credit rating high so that lenders will be willing to lend money when you want to buy a house or car.
