First it’s best to understand the overall debt situation of our people. Nationally more than 27% of Black households are behind on their debts. This doesn’t necessarily mean we are bad at debt or terrible at managing money. But there are ways for us to pay down our debts.
First, assess your debts. It’s best to figure out exactly how much you owe. Take note of interest rates, minimum payments, and who the creditor is. In order to climb this mountain, you have to be organized and these questions will give you a great start.
The debt snowball method makes cutting debt doable. Like making a snowball, start off small, paying off the smallest debts first then working your way up to the biggest debts. This eliminates the easiest of them first so the big payments have greater focus later.
Cutting expenses in creative ways could help. Regular expenses can be negotiated like cell phone bills, internet, and car insurance rates. The savings through this could be massive each month and help you eat away at debt.
Being in debt isn't a thing to be ashamed of. America’s capitalist system makes surviving hard for many of us, and that creates debt. The best thing we can do is smartly navigate it.