Finding yourself buried under a sea of debt can be a suffocating feeling. In order to dig your way out, you need to keep a level head and approach with patience – you’re not going to get out of debt overnight. Follow a few of these tips and tricks however and you will make progress.

Take out a debt consolidation loan

Having multiple loans going out to multiple people can get confusing. These could include credit cards, car loans, student loans, home equity loans and other personal loans. Taking another loan out loans might seem like the last thing you want to do. However, paying off all these debts with one big loan (known as a debt consolidation loan) could help ease the stress by putting all your debts in one place. There are many places online in which you can learn more about debt solutions of this kind.

Organised your bills

Once you’ve got on top of your loans, it’s time to get on top of your bills. Make sure you never miss a payment by setting reminders of when each bill goes out (rent, utilities, phone bill, internet, council tax etc.). If you can, create a special account which you contribute a certain amount of money to each month. This money should be enough to cover all bills. Link up all your bills to here. The remainder in your personal account is your own personal spending’s.

Create a weekly budget

So that your personal expenses don’t go out of control, set a weekly budget of how much you need to spend on food, drink and other home essentials. If you can, set some money aside for leisure. You could make this a small personal luxury every week, or a big blowout at the end of each month.

Make cutbacks

Anything you no longer need, get rid of. Sell items that are gathering dust and make money out of them. Keep on top of electricity usage and start being more frugal with heating. Save money on food and drink by cutting down on meats and branded items, and make meals last by using leftovers. Use your car less often to save on fuel. Lastly, try to make use of what you already have before buying more – use up those toiletries given to you at Christmas, hand old clothes down the generations and use up the tins in your cupboard.

Shop around

You won’t be able to save money unless you shop around for the best deals. This could include anything from the toothpaste you use to the cereal you buy. Don’t forget about the big expenses too such as energy providers and car insurance companies. Many may try to suck you in with loyalty programmers, but looking online you may be able to find better deals that outdo any no claims bonus. There are many comparison sites online that can help you find the best deal on just about anything. Don’t forget whilst saving to also read reviews though so that you’re not paying for a sub-par service – you’ll save less, but it could be money wasted.