Budgeting For Dummies

Chapter 10

Eliminating Debt

IN THIS CHAPTER

Examining different kinds of debt

Erasing debt

Steering clear of accumulating more debt

I hate having debt — hate it!. As much as I like to think I’m the perfect financial guru (hello, personal finance columnist!), I’m just human like everyone else. I’ve been in debt since I was 19 and took out my first student loans. I’ve also taken out auto and personal loans and used credit cards to my advantage. The point is that 99 percent of the population just can’t feasibly make a significant purchase or tackle a crisis without taking on some kind of debt.

In this chapter, I look at the different types of debt to help you create a budget for paying debt off. I discuss how to rank the importance of each debt so you can create a payoff plan that works with your budget, and I share tips anyone can use to keep themselves from accumulating more debt. It’s all fun and games when you come home with something shiny until you have to pay it back.

The illusion that you’re a terrible person if you have debt is a common misconception. In fact, many personal ...