Comments on: How to Get Out of Debt https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/ Wed, 15 Nov 2023 03:57:57 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 By: Jeff Rose https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-180119 Mon, 02 Oct 2017 19:22:59 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-180119 In reply to Paige.

Hi Paige – I’m a big advocate of “getting started” when it comes to retirement plans. The sooner the better. Getting started, even with a small amount, means you have something to build on later when you’re in a better position. If your employer offers a matching contributions (they usually on 403b plans), I’d make the minimum contribution needed to get the highest match. It’s virtually free money, and you need to pursue it.

Failing that, start with say a 3% contribution. Since it’s tax deductible you’ll hardly know it’s missing. Then try to build up an emergency fund while you’re paying off the credit cards. As far as the student loans, concentrate first on the emergency fund and the credit cards. Once one is filled and the other is paid off, increase your 403b contributions, as well as the monthly payment on your school loans. It’ll take patience, but it will all pay off in the long-run.

]]> By: Paige https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-179808 Fri, 15 Sep 2017 21:52:59 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-179808 Hi Jeff,
I have about $80K in debt (student loans and credit cards). I am starting my first full time job this month and they offer a 403(b) retirement plan. I am interested in investing in this retirement plan, but I haven’t decided because I have this debt to pay off. Any advice? Thank you, Paige.

]]> By: Jeremy https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-179028 Wed, 02 Aug 2017 03:47:08 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-179028 Good advice, being in over $20k at one point plus $40k in student debt made me question a lot of decisions I made. One of them being the value of going to school for 4 years only to get a job where you make only 35k a year.

Looking back I probably would have gotten into a trade straight away instead of doing 4 years of college and then getting into a trade.

]]> By: DividendMonkey https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-164934 Wed, 21 Dec 2016 22:30:27 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-164934 There is a lot in deciding what to do first. For me, a balanced approach of saving cash, investing, and paying down debt has worked for me. Depending on different conditions, I will weigh one more than another as different opportunities arise. Thank you for the informative article.

]]> By: Jeff Rose https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-161354 Mon, 07 Nov 2016 00:54:32 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-161354 In reply to Ania @ Seize the Aisle.

Ania – The debt snowball also enables you to build momentum. By paying off the smallest, you free up some cash flow for bigger debts. It helps to set the stage and keep you rolling.

]]> By: Ania @ Seize the Aisle https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-160831 Tue, 01 Nov 2016 05:58:42 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-160831 I love the debt-snowball method. It is technically better financially to pay off the highest interest debts first, but for people who have ten different debts, just seeing the number of debts go down can be more emotionally rewarding and cause a feedback loop to keep the process going. Also usually the smallest debts tend to be higher interest anyway since big debts like mortgages and student loans tend to be lower interest than smaller debts like credit card debts on s single card.

]]> By: Jeff Rose https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-157249 Tue, 27 Sep 2016 00:28:40 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-157249 In reply to Rajkumar Jonnala.

Hi Rajkumar – I see that investing worked for you, but I’d stop short of making it a general recommendation. It really depends on your personal situation, and whether or not you can afford to take a loss on your investments (it can happen) and still pay your debts. I will try to do more posts like this in the future! Thanks!

]]> By: Rajkumar Jonnala https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-156876 Fri, 23 Sep 2016 07:37:08 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-156876 Amazing post this is, and I was in same situation when I was in college days the time when I received my scholarship offer, I was confused whether to invest my scholarship money or to pay off my education loan dept. But I choose to invest the money instead of paying off my debt and it really helped me clear my debt and make money out of investment.

For everyone who are in dilemma between whether to invest the money or pay off their debt, I suggest invest the money in a strong valued shares and make sure you are well aware of what you are doing and it will definitely help you.

We really expect more posts like this from you regarding the money investment

]]> By: Jeff Rose https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-156649 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 17:24:50 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-156649 In reply to Jules.

Hi Jules – It could include mortgage debt, but that’s not what I addressed in the article. With a mortgage, you really have to look at the big picture. That includes interest rate especially. For example, if you are paying 3.5% on your mortgage, but you can earn 7% on your investments you probably don’t want to payoff your mortgages. You also have to consider whether or not your mortgage payment is a serious problem or if you are managing it easily. If you’re not having any problem with the payment, you might want to keep it open. After all, it’s a tax write-off, and it will eventually amortize down to zero even if all you do is make the monthly payments.

]]> By: Jules https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/#comment-156390 Sun, 18 Sep 2016 01:15:20 +0000 http://gfc-live.flywheelsites.com/?p=28644#comment-156390 Hi my name is Jules
I really think this is a great article. Just one quick question when you talk about resolving your debt, are you including a mortgage or just unsecured debt, (i.e. Credit cards, car loans)

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