Debt management companies such as Freedom Debt Relief (FDR) may offer the assistance you might need if you find yourself nose-deep in debt. However, you may have to bear in mind that the counseling and solutions offered by these agencies may only help you in the short term if you yourself are not willing to work together with them to help yourself financially in the long term. My friend Flynn had to engage the help of FDR because his unsecured debts were too overwhelming for him to take care of all by himself. After a few years, the debt management program designed by FDR along with his self-discipline managed to get him out of debt permanently. Now all Flynn has to do is to ensure that he takes all the necessary precautions to stay out of debt for good.

The first thing Flynn did was setting his own goals and values. Basically he had to determine for himself which aspect of his life was more important and what he would want to accomplish with the money that he had. In Flynn’s case, his priority was the well-being of his family. This did not necessarily mean that his family would have to have the most expensive things money could buy. It simply meant that rather than spending his money on material things like luxurious cars or limited edition leather jackets, he would direct his money into trust funds or college funds so that his children could study at their college of choice without having to break the bank when the time comes.

Flynn also realized that like his marriage, his finances would also need to have a system. So he started to reorganize his finances by buying an office style file cabinet that he put in his home office so that it would be accessible to him at any time. Basically he would separate his deductible expenses, banking statements and tax related items into different files. The first year he started doing this, he realized that he could actually save more on his taxes because he already had his receipts in file including his W-2 and 1099 forms from mutual fund companies detailing his dividends and gains and losses so that he could prove his tax returns. Items that may be tax exempted were also included in his tax related item file. By creating a system, he found that managing his finances was not as difficult as it seemed at the beginning.

The one thing that Flynn would try to avoid is incurring more debts. But sometimes there were things that he could not avoid like immediate medical attention which could be quite expensive. So Flynn set up an emergency fund. He would try to pay down as much as he could afford so that his debts would not start piling up all over again. Flynn also realized that there would be a point in his life when he would no longer be able to work to earn a living. He started saving up for his retirement and ventured into investing his money in mutual funds so that his money would work hard for him for his future. He now spends less on luxurious items like he used to and tries to live on cash as much as he can. At the same time he is also teaching his children the same values so that they would start being financially savvy at a young age.

Having done all that, Flynn also made a point to not let his finances rule over every single decision he would have to make in life. At times, he would allow himself a holiday trip somewhere to enjoy the money that he earned. Being frugal does not mean he would have to end up being a scrooge. The point is to have a goal and to work towards achieving it.

Author Bio: freedom debt relief

Category: Finances
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