If you look at your financial state and think, “It will all get better if I just win the lottery or get a bonus or an inheritance,” this may be a sign that you are headed for a financial disaster. Relying on a windfall to catch up or have a better life could be an indicator that you are rationalizing your debt instead of doing something positive about reducing it.
Debt is hard to deal with. There is no doubt about that. How do you get out from under things when it all seems to keep piling back up again? But relying on a windfall is like believing in a fairy story. It is fun to dream about it, but not very practical in the end.
Windfalls do happen, from small ones such as an unexpected tax return in your favor to a large one, such as that elusive lottery. But you can’t make a not-happened-yet windfall part of your debt plan.
Instead, you have to make a windfall of your own, through a combination of cutting back, paying down your debts and increasing your income. Your windfall will take time, but it can happen. Just an extra $100 a month could work toward paying off a bill that is costing you half of that ($50) a month in interest. Once that debt is paid off, apply that windfall to the next debt and so on.
If you are underwater, you’ll need to increase your savings and income as well. While it is not fun, you might need to get an extra job or downsize your home in order to get your home-made windfall started. Have a large yard sale. Anything extra you can save or make can be used to pay off your bills, bringing you one step closer to solvency.
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