Before the outbreak of the pandemic, a significant number of Americans were mired in debt.
According to a Federal Reserve survey conducted in 2018, about 40% of Americans could not afford to pay an unexpected $400 bill.
Since that time, things have become even more difficult because of the hit the economy took in 2020, resulting in millions of people losing their jobs. Although the government has recently provided Americans $1,400 stimulus checks, this stopgap is still not enough for people to get back on their feet.
If you’re struggling with high debt and insufficient income, the following suggestions may prove helpful.
A Simple Way to Reduce Your Debt
With or without a steady stream of income, credit card bills every month from multiple credit card companies can make it difficult to balance your budget. Consequently, you often have to sacrifice many of the things you need just to cover these high-interest bills.
If you don’t pay the balance owed, then the next month’s bill will be higher because of the interest; and if you don’t pay the bill at all because you don’t have the money, you’ll be harassed by collection agency calls and demand letters. When you fall behind in paying off their monthly balances, the high-interest fees keep raising the amount you owe. Consequently, credit card debt from $20,000 to $60,000 can accumulate within a year.
One way out of this mess is to try another approach. Debt consolidation simplifies paying down your debt. When you use this debt repayment method, your multiple payments each month turn into a single payment.
After you apply for and receive a consolidation loan from a lender like Hawkeye Associates, you will no longer struggle to pay your bills several times a month. Besides simplifying the process of bill paying, your payments are also lower each month because of the longer life of your loan. Restructuring your debt in this way will make it feel as if you’ve removed a heavy weight from your shoulders.
2 Ways to Earn More Online
If you are not earning enough from your job because of the high cost of living, because you are between jobs, or because you have retired, then one way to earn some extra money—or even a full-time living—is to make money online.
Here are two examples of ways you can earn money from the Internet:
- Freelancing: If you have developed a talent as a photographer, writer, artist, or graphic designer, you can find work on job boards for freelance work. Initially, you may not be well paid when freelancing, but once you develop a reputation for providing good quality work on time, your business will steadily grow.
- Teaching online: There is a significant demand for one-on-one teaching online. If you play a musical instrument, for example, you could teach students via Zoom. Language courses are also in high demand. For instance, students in China are interested in hiring North American teachers. When you teach online, you could teach through a company that offers tutoring services and connects teachers with students, or you could simply use online ads, such as Facebook ads, to find students on your own.
To sum up, if you are like millions of Americans with high credit card debt, you can simplify the debt repayment process using a consolidated loan. And if you are not earning enough to manage your monthly expenses and would like to earn extra money, you don’t have to get a second job, but you can earn an extra income online.
