Negosentro.com | Debt In The Time Of COVID-19 – How To Stay On Track With Getting Out Of Debt | Survival during the pandemic has been challenging for many people. Some businesses have been forced to close while others are doing their best to trade from home. Even those who are used to working from home have to help their children to stay on track with school. It’s been a difficult time for everyone, yet the expectations of the world seem to have stayed as high as always. For many people, it’s difficult to find ways to keep food on the table, let alone repaying debt. Here are five tips to help you stay on track in these challenging times:
Photo credit: Unsplash Patrick Fore
Survival during the pandemic has been challenging for many people. Some businesses have been forced to close while others are doing their best to trade from home. Even those who are used to working from home have to help their children to stay on track with school. It’s been a difficult time for everyone, yet the expectations of the world seem to have stayed as high as always. For many people, it’s difficult to find ways to keep food on the table, let alone repaying debt. Here are five tips to help you stay on track in these challenging times:
1. Seek Support
Professional debt management solutions are available from experts who specialize in helping people navigate their obligations through difficult circumstances. This service isn’t for those who can afford help, it’s for those who are in over their heads. If this is you, and it’s because of (or exacerbated by) the COVID-19 disaster, you’re entitled to help. This service can help you to prioritize your repayments, possibly consolidate your debt, and renegotiate repayment terms.
2. Cut Expenses
It sounds like obvious advice, but many people try to keep honoring their service contracts which require monthly payments. It’s best to cancel as many non-essential subscriptions and services as possible. You may have signed a fixed-term contract, but during these extenuating circumstances, you can explain that you are financially unable to meet your payment obligations due to the disaster that is affecting everyone. Service providers can either freeze your account until you are able to start paying again, or they may cancel your service.
3. Renegotiate Repayment Terms
Debt during this time feels like a non-essential expense. After all, it’s not helping you survive. You can take a debt repayment holiday, but it’ll be better in the long-run to contact your debtor and ask if you can renegotiate payment terms for a fixed period of time. They may allow you to pay half of your usual installments for the next three months before you return to the full price. This will help you get through the pandemic while staying on track with your debt.
4. Consolidate Your Debt
If you decide to reach out and get help from a debt management company, you might be advised to consolidate your debt if you owe money to a number of different lenders. This should reduce your monthly premiums by giving you just one repayment to deal with each month. Consolidation makes it less stressful to manage expectations and reach agreements with different companies. Debt consolidation means your debt is essentially bought by one debt consolidator who will pay off your debt with the various lenders at a renegotiated rate.
5. Find A Sideline Income
There are many opportunities to earn a sideline income right now, although not many people have money to spend. Advertise yourself on social media as a grocery deliverer to your neighborhood. Sew masks and sell your homemade products online. Be sure to find ways to make them interesting and creative (for example, ladies might like to buy a matching headband and mask set). Look for essentials that are inexpensive (so that people can afford them) to offer to the community during this time. There are a number of opportunities available, it’s just about recognizing them and going for it.
Is debt getting you down? It doesn’t have to consume your life, especially during a pandemic. Beat your debt by following the tips above, and don’t be shy about getting professional help to make it happen.
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