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Earn a high-yield savings rate with JG Wentworth Debt Relief
We’ve all been there – you started the year with lofty goals to finally get that nagging debt paid off, but somewhere along the way, life happened. Maybe an unexpected expense derailed your debt snowball. Perhaps temptation got the better of you, and you accumulated new balances. Or maybe you simply lost motivation after plateauing on your payoff progress.
Whatever the reason, if your debt resolution has stalled or you’ve fallen behind on your goals, the most important thing is to avoid getting trapped in a cycle of self-defeat and inaction. This May for “National Recommitment Month,” take stock of your situation and map out a revitalized roadmap for jumpstarting your debt freedom plans.
To help jumpstart your financial recommitment, we’ve put together a handy Recommitment Month checklist loaded with tips and strategies to reinforce your fiscal discipline:
✔ Perform a no-holds-barred debt audit
The first step in regaining control is fully understanding where you stand. Gather all your latest statements – credit cards, loans, etc. – and construct a comprehensive debt overview. What’s your current total balance? What are you paying in interest charges monthly? Seeing the full picture, warts and all, is tough but necessary for developing an effective payoff roadmap.
✔ Re-evaluate your payoff plan
Look back at the debt payoff targets you set for yourself earlier this year. Are you making sufficient progress? If not, lay out achievable action steps to get there. And if necessary, adjust your goals to align with more realistic capabilities.
✔ Run a self-diagnostic
Now do a frank self-assessment about what led you astray from your initial debt plans. Did you underestimate living costs and leave yourself cashflow-deprived? Did the “budget buckets” you allocated funds to have leaks? Is your income inconsistent or insufficient for aggressive debt paydown? Are persistent splurge habits sabotaging your efforts? Don’t judge – just diagnose.
✔ Monitor cash flow
Review your income and expenditures monthly to ensure you’re sticking to a debt-disciplined budget. If spending has crept up, identify areas to cut back and reallocate those funds towards debts.
✔ Realign your priorities
With full visibility into challenges and obstacles, realign your priorities to place debt resolution at the top. Craft a revised budget that allocates as much disposable income as possible towards balances. This may require making temporary sacrifices in other areas of life, but if total debt freedom is the goal, it’ll be well worth it.
✔ Use breathing room tools
If you’re struggling with unaffordable interest charges and minimum payments, consider consolidation methods that can create some breathing room for more effective paydown. Balance transfers can buy you periods of 0% interest. Personal loans may lower rates. Explore all options for making remaining balances more manageable.
✔ Automate for consistency
One of the easiest ways to inject consistency into your debt attack? Automating minimum payments so you never miss a cycle and don’t get dinged with fees. While paying more than minimums will be necessary, automation ensures you’re never backsliding on progress.
✔ Go paperless
Ditch physical receipts and statements in favor of secure digital records. This streamlined approach makes tracking debts, payments, and progress easier.
✔ Optimize “debt momentum”
There’s a psychological component to debt repayment – once you start making consistent headway, motivation and confidence will build. Use tools like debt trackers and visual thermometers to monitor even small bits of progress. Celebrate every milestone, no matter how minor, to sustain momentum.
✔ Solicit an accountability partner
Few things are more powerful for achieving difficult goals like debt freedom than having an accountability partner. Whether it’s a money-savvy friend, family member, or even an online community – enlisting someone to regularly check in on your progress adds positive pressure to remain disciplined.
✔ Try JG Wentworth
If you want to give your debt resolution recommitment an extra boost, consider applying for JG Wentworth’s Debt Relief Program. Individuals with over $10,000 in unsecured debt can qualify, and the perks speak for themselves:
- One monthly payment
- We negotiate on your behalf
- Average debt resolution in as little as 48-60 months
- 24/7 support
- We only get paid if we settle your debt
✔ Be patient and persistent
Here’s the hard truth – reviving a stalled debt payoff plan won’t happen overnight. It will require patience, diligence, and an unwavering commitment to the long-term goal of living debt-free. The path to debt resolution is rarely linear, with ups, downs, speed bumps and course corrections along the journey. If you’ve veered off-track, don’t beat yourself up. Use this Recommitment Month as a catalyst to reset, recalibrate, and restart your debt resolution efforts with renewed vigor. You’ve got this!