An inquirer wrote asking how to get out of overwhelming debt, including money owed to Loan Sharks. While I prayed for this person, and printed that prayer in my reply, I added some practical help. You can copy this text below as part of your response to a similar inquirer.

I have a suggestion for you to consider.

First take a piece of paper, and start writing down everything you spend money of any kind on. Do this each day for a month, listing everything, then look carefully at even the smallest things, and see what you can stop buying.

Next take what little you are able to save from the cutback and apply it to the debt with the highest interest rate, probably the loan sharks. Remember the highest interest rate account is the one increasing your debt the fastest so this is the first one to get paid off.

Make a commitment to not borrow again or renew a debt, just get it paid off and closed.

Each time you do this with one account, it will leave you more money to pay off the next one, and your recovery will accelerate as you go along.

Once you have got onto a debt free basis.

Start putting a set amount into a savings account, until you have saved the equivalent of 6 months wages, then keep that as an emergency fund for the time you are ever out of a job. (It can happen to all of us)

Once you have paid your monthly expenses and the set amount into your emergency fund, then the rest is there for you to help your family. This may take you time and patience to get there but with small beginning, you will find you can do this.

Debt Free Advantages

When you are out of debt, and have some money over, apart from your emergency fund, you have a huge advantage.

• First by paying cash, you are saving the 10% or more that credit costs you to buy that item.
• The second advantage is you can bargain for a cash discount. (Dealers pay a fee to the credit card company to process your credit purchase, so they will often give a discount to get your cash.)
• Thirdly you will sleep better, knowing you do not have debts to pay, if you lose a job or have some other emergency.

As a Christian it has been my joy to give God back 10% of all He gives me, and this has made the 90% that I live on, go further than when I tried to keep all of it for myself.