Sitting on your butt is killing you! According to the Heart Foundation, folks who sit the most are 90% more susceptible to dying from cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. And while taking a load off and having a seat isn’t going to immediately harm you, the accumulation of years and decades of a more sedentary lifestyle could lead to an earlier death! And we feel similarly when it comes to consumer debt. Paying a little interest this month isn’t going to completely wreck your financial future, but it’s a real problem if it becomes a permanent fixture in your life. Not to mention the fact that credit card interest rates are rising and millions of Americans made their holiday purchases with money they don’t have. Listen as we discuss the straightforward steps to create a foolproof plan, where we land on the debt snowball vs debt avalanche approach, as well as some additional helpful tips that will allow you to ditch debt for good.
Additional links:
- Sitting – If you’re looking for some of the stats we mentioned at the beginning of the episode, here’s that Heart Foundation post that’s full of stats.
- Money Gears – We mentioned that it’s important to not completely drain your savings- you need to keep around a basic emergency fund which is the first of our 7 Money Gears. It’s important to know what your next financial moves should be before you take action!
- Avalanche or snowball? – Use Undebt.it to help you figure out a get-outta-debt plan and check out this detailed post about debt snowball vs debt avalanche methods, including differences and examples.
- Balance transfer – If you’ve got your act together, then a counterintuitive move is to utilize a credit card. Read our full article to see how you can use a 0% balance transfer credit card to help you pay off some debt.
- Counseling – For help with overwhelming debt, check out free services offered by the NFCC (National Foundation for Credit Counseling) and Money Management International.
- Credit Card Tool – Looking for the right credit card for you? Then check out our new credit card tool that’ll help you to easily filter through all the cards based on your preferred airline, whether or not they have an annual fee, or simply by the cash back offer! Just toggle the sliders and you’ll know which card to consider.
- Newsletter – Don’t forget to sign up for the best personal finance newsletter in all the land! It’s completely free and something we create to help you along your journey to financial freedom. It drops every Tuesday morning and you can always unsubscribe if you don’t dig it!
During this episode we enjoyed a Perpetual Composition by Southern Grist Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!
Best friends out!
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