Top 5 Steps to Reduce Debt

You don’t have to hang with your debt 24/7.  There are solutions to effectively kick it to the curb so you can move forward financially, psychologically and emotionally.  Check out our top 5 list of debt reduction strategies – get mean and lean!

5. Call your creditor and request a lower interest rate.  Payments are more effective when the snowball of high interest rates has been slowed down to crawl with a significantly lower rate.

4. Skip Starbucks. Buy your own Tassimo and make your latte from home and to go.  Over a 20 year period you can save $33,000. To make this savings count, throw every dime you would have spent on speciality coffee on one specific creditor.

3. Success breeds more success. Target the creditor with the smallest balance (not necessarily highest interest rate) and throw everything at it including the kitchen sink.  Don't forget to make your minimum payments to your other creditors.  Once you have successfully brought one creditor to a  zero balance, using this strategy, close it down.  You will feel so successful that you will have the momentum to move onto the next creditor.  Remember, out witting debt is a psychological game of cat and mouse. Don’t be the mouse! Meow.

2.  Go to a cash based system.  You can’t pay off a debt if you keep adding to it. Stop using your credit cards. Stick them in a freezer and forget about them.  And, don’t forget that pesky debit card.  Shut it down. Before you know it, you can nickel-and-dime yourself out of your pay cheque by using your debit card indiscriminately.  Stick to cold hard cash. Loonies, toonies, and pennies count too!

1. Don’t give up! Consistency and persistence pays off. Be disciplined and stick to your plan.  Before you know it, you will have reduced you debt significantly.

And, if you have tried the above strategies and investigated other options with little success, book an appointment for a free and in-person consult. We specialise in personal debt restructuring with the goal of reducing debt by up to 70%.  Debt restructuring could be the most strategic move available to get on the road to financial and psychological liberation. 

For more info contact Cait Wilms  T: 604.600.1189 E: caitw@4pillars.ca  Website: www.richmonddebt.ca

Appointment available in Richmond and South Surrey offices.

A Shift in First Time Homebuyer Demographic

The demographics of the typical first-time homebuyer are changing these days.

More and more women today can afford to purchase a property on their own to

build up valuable equity and are no longer waiting to find a life partner before

they pursue the financial and lifestyle benefits of home ownership.

One in four buyers these days is a single female, and new home marketing is

actually starting to reflect that. Women may be ready to jump into the

commitment of home ownership but not all are willing to give up their valuable

free time to do outdoor chores. Thus, single women tend to look for homes

that require little or no maintenance with an option to plant container gardens.

Sound familiar ladies?

The easiest and most popular way to hold on to a maintenance free lifestyle is

to purchase a condominium. Its problem-free upkeep and unencumbered

lifestyle is an obvious benefit to people who don’t want to be tied up every

weekend with chores – there are no lawns to water and mow, and no leaves to

rake. No yard means there’s no fence or deck to repair, and no driveway to

shovel in the winter. Choose a condo and you’ll never have to worry about this

stuff. Condominium members are charged a flat monthly fee to cover

maintenance of the common areas as well as provide prompt service by

reliable tradespersons if there are maintenance problems in your individual

unit. Heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical problems are handled

by maintenance staff or service agreements set up by the condo association,

so good help is available at a moment’s notice.

Security is also an important consideration for single women living alone, and

the condo lifestyle can offer such measures as restricted access, a concierge on

duty screening visitors, closed circuit TV monitors, patrolling security guards

and panic buttons in garages to add peace of mind.

Some single women still prefer a more traditional home as their first property.

The appeal of having an outdoor space of your own to entertain, putter about

in a garden and relax can be inviting. A single family home usually offers more

privacy and is also better suited to larger pets. (If you have a pet and decide

to purchase a condo, make sure to check if your pet will be warmly received by

the condo board first – they uphold the rules that the condo owners have set in

place.)

In the end, the style of home you choose (e.g. condo or single family home)

will depend on your lifestyle and your needs. Identifying your needs and

requirements from the very start will help make the process of searching for

your first home easier.

(Article by Sandra Rinomato - hgtv.ca)