I came across an article the other day over at msn.com that I wanted to share with my readers. As I have often told my clients, filing bankruptcy is just the first step in getting their financial lives under control. Staying on track means learning new habits. Here are eight ideas for helping you stay on track:
- Remember the agony – Remember what it was like living under the stress of overwhelming debt? Taking control of your financial life means not having to relive that.
- Involve your friends – Don’t underestimate how the support of those close to you can help you make positive changes in your life.
- Employ social networking – Declare your intentions to stay debt free to your social network and look for others who need help to make the same commitment.
- Broaden your budget – If your budget doesn’t include monthly savings, change it. Take a quarter of your dining out budget and commit yourself to putting it away for the future.
- Reduce temptation – The article suggests getting rid of all but two credit cards. I say make it one and only use it for real emergencies, like car repair.
- Frame the ugliest bill you have – Looking at this every day will help you remember what life was like when you couldn’t make ends meet.
- Refine your value system – Think about why you racked up all of that excess debt. If you spent money on unnecessary items to distract your from other problems in your life, ask yourself if any of those things made you happy.
- Save your old debt payments – Instead of using the money you used to spend on your bills on new bills, start putting that money in a savings account.
Getting back on track can seem overwhelming. The ideas above are just some of the ways you can start.
You can read the article here.