DEBT MANAGEMENT » Get out of Debt

When financial troubles hit you hard, it can be difficult to know how to cope.

You might have creditors calling and sending letters, a mortgage lender asking for your next payment, and the repo guy knocking on your door - all while you have little ones asking for food you don't have.

There's no doubt that the stress can be overwhelming, but the good news is, there are ways to cope. You can explore what you shouldn't do during this difficult time, look at how you found yourself in this situation and determine how to resolve your issue. Even hearing personals stories can make you feel better.

If you're in the midst of financial stress right now, it's time to lift yourself up. Let's take a look at some articles that may help you cope with the situation:

What Not to Do

Have you ever sat at your kitchen table staring at a pile of debt not sure what to do about it? You may want to pull your hair out - or pull someone else's hair out.

There are things you can do to make yourself feel better, then there are things you should avoid at all costs (pulling money out of your 401k, leaving your home behind, harming your family, committing a crime). If you think you may be on the verge of doing something crazy, now's the time to learn what not to do when under financial stress.

Where Your Stress Came From

One of the best ways to overcome a difficult situation is to analyze how you got there in the first place.

This is just as true for a financial stress as it would be for a bad relationship. You may have made irresponsible purchases that resulted in a pile up of debt, purchased insurance you couldn't afford, obtained a mortgage with an adjustable rate or even found yourself laid off from your job.

Whatever the reason is, after you've found it you want to look at solutions; these steps will help you get to a place of resolve. So if you don't yet know where your financial stress came from, get ready to explore.

Read Some Personal Stories

Sometimes you may feel that no one knows your struggle or no one knows your pain. However, the millions of current laid-off workers know exactly what financial stress feels like.

When in this type of situation, everyone needs a shoulder to lean on, and sometimes that shoulder comes in the form of a personal story. Whether you're learning about the college student who made tons of financial mistakes, or the disabled worker who fell into debt at no fault of his own, you can empathize with them and also feel inspired by the ways they were able to turn their debt tragedies into success stories.

If financial stress is a part of your life, there's no reason to suffer through it. Instead, it's good to work towards uplifting your spirits - and financial well-being - so you can soon have your own success story to tell.

(Photo by leeroy09481 at flickr.)

Nothing can greater illustrate the tough times someone goes through like a personal story.

If you have been in a difficult financial situation - especially one related to debt - you probably have a story of your own. Since debt and how to overcome it is destined to be an ongoing saga for millions of people in this country, it's important to take a look at others' stories, and most importantly, how they overcame them.

Here are four personal stories that may inspire you:

The Typical College Student

In a recent MSN.com article, Sarah Maffei told her story of being a college student with a large collection of credit cards - 16 to be exact - and $30,000 worth of debt. Thinking that she would get a great job to pay off her bills after graduating, she didn't worry about her accumulations - that is, until she found a job that paid her less per year than her total debt.

With her bills piling up rapidly, she sought the advice of a credit consultant who recommended she abstain from credit cards and even ATMs. She learned to budget, keep records, and accepted a recreation budget of only $4 a month. The Scrooge-like existence was worth it because in two and a half years, her entire debt was paid. Now she lives entirely on cash and plans all purchases on a spreadsheet. Click here to read her full story.

Living the Good Life?

Michael Thomas is an MBA graduate who only thought about making exciting purchases - happy hour tabs, high-priced dinner dates, the best seats at the ballgame. He was living the good life - or so he thought.

Even with a job paying $100,000 a year, he managed to rack up $50,000 in credit card debt. Realizing he'd made a huge mistake he began to turn his life around by bringing his work to lunch, downgrading his expensive SUV to a Honda Civic, and paying for everything in cash. Now he's completely out of debt and writes his own blog about it. Read more about his experience.

Things Got Worse Before They Got Better

A recent story published on ChristianPF.com told the story of Patrick Gessleman and his wife Heather, a couple who tried to solve a credit card debt issue by obtaining a home equity loan.

However, since they never addressed the reason they found themselves in debt in the first place (their spending habits), they accumulated $25,000 more in credit card bills. Knowing the problem had to stop, they locked up their credit cards, used a virtual envelope budgeting system and sold their house, renting instead to pay their credit card debt down quicker. Learn more about their success.

Disabled and In Debt

Sometimes we find ourselves in debt due to irresponsibility, but other times, the debt may be outside of our control.

This was the case with Kevin, who suffered from chronic fatigue and found himself unable to work. To make ends meet, he applied for Social Security Disability Insurance; however, the benefits guidelines required that he not take on any type of employment.

His first application was denied and he had to appeal, forcing him to live on credit cards until he was approved. While he did eventually receive $10,000 in SSDI back-pay benefits, after paying the attorney he hired to help him appeal his application, he still owed over $8,000 in credit card debt. Kevin is currently working down his debt by consolidating his bills through a credit union. Read Kevin's story here.

The Moral of the Story

The common thread to all of these stories is that while they all found themselves in debt, they took steps to solve the problem. As you noticed, hard work was also a common thread in their lives. This means, you too can pull yourself out of seemingly impossible-to-rectify debt accumulations with a budget, will power and dedication to a lifelong, worry-free financial existence.

(image from zzzack at flickr.)

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