Sometimes, it can feel like debt is overwhelming. Credit
card debt, car payments, lingering student loans, lines of credit, business
loans… the list goes on and on. With so many sources of debt and so many
different deadlines or schedules for repayment, it can sometimes feel like
refinancing your mortgage to pay off debt is the best, or even only, option.
True, capitalizing on your home equity is a quick way to access large amounts
of money, and having all your debt in one place can seem like a more
straightforward path to paying off your personal debt. However, there are risks
associated with refinancing your mortgage or with taking out a second mortgage
that make it an unwise choice for most people. It is far better to find a way
to get organized, assess your personal financial status and tackle the problem
of debt head-on. Sometimes, all it takes is a more organized and tactical
approach, and what used to seem like insurmountable debt problems can suddenly
reveal themselves as quite manageable.
Great – but How?
"Take control of your personal finances” is all well and
good, and it’s undoubtedly good advice, but like many pieces of advice, it’s
often easier said than done. Most people don’t have any sort of accounting
background, and the tricks of the personal finance trade can seem complicated
and technical to the lay person. Luckily, technology can help. By using
personal budget planning software, getting a good look at your entire household
budget is easy. Follow the prompts, input your expenses and income, and watch
the software come up with a clear, concise overview of your financial
situation. Once you have that good look, you’ll be able to spot the places
where your own spending habits are undermining your goals, and see where you
can simply save the money you’re already making rather than sinking deeper into
debt when you don’t need to.
Nickel and Diming
Yourself
While it’s obviously true that remortgaging your home will
release a large amount of cash in short order, you may be surprised by how much
money you can find by making much smaller, and safer, decisions. A robust piece
of personal account manager software will let you pose various hypothetical
questions about your finances to see just how much you can save in the long run
by making minor adjustments to your day-to-day spending habits. By finding ways
to save just a few dollars every day, you can soon see just how much more room
to breathe you had in your monthly personal budget, and how paying off some of
your debts is not as out of reach as you once thought.
With the right personal accounting software helping you, you
can take total control over your finances, set personal budget goals, develop a
plan and work towards living debt-free, all without having to resort to
refinancing your mortgage in order to pay off debt. You’ll get the peace of
mind of paying off your debts and knowing that your hard-earned home equity is
safe and sound. Your home equity is far better being preserved instead of
consumed.