How do I control my Debt?

Recognizing that you have too much debt begins with the ability to focus on how much money is coming in (salary, rental income, etc.) as well as how much money is going out (mortgage, car loans, bills, donations, tuition, etc.). If you are paying out more money than you are bringing home, then you definitely have too much debt.

People who have more debt than they can reasonably handle often come to the realization that they have too much debt simply by

worrying about the fact that they have too many bills. Initially, they might not even realize that the real problem is that they spend too much

money, leading to too much debt. If you find yourself dwelling on the fact that the bills seem to stack up rather quickly each month and

worrying over how you are going to pay them all, chances are you have too much debt.

Steps you can take to begin to control your debt:

1. Listen to the webinar “Basics of Personal Finance”

2. Ask your contact at Samaritan House to forward you the Booklet “Downsizing Your Debt” (you can download and print the BALANCE copy)

3. Take the BalanceTrack Module – “Money Management” and “Financial First Aid” (sign in required)

4. Read the information in the Toolkit “Steps to Financial Health”

5. Watch the Video “Getting Out of Debt”

Contact Samaritan House San Mateo at 650-347-3648 for further questions and suggestions.