Before you start building wealth, you may have a few administrative items that need to be taken care of. Namely, you may have consumer debt hanging over your head. Every day it calls to you, waking you up in the middle of the night. Have you ever jumped out of bed in a cold sweat because you were dreaming, or worse, having nightmares about your debt? Unfortunately, two-thirds of college seniors who graduated in 2010 had student loan debt, with an average of $25,250. That’s up 5% from last year. (Source) If you have consumer debt on top of that, then you are not alone.
- But are you ready to change?
- Do you want to reduce your debt so you can have more freedom to save and invest?
- How about an easy plan to get it done?
Yes, yes and yes? Ok, let’s get started.
Fun and Simple Debt Payoff with Ready for Zero
I met some of the Ready for Zero team, an interesting company that makes debt pay down simple and fun. The basic idea behind Ready for Zero is that it begins with your declaration. Are you ready to payoff your debt? Once you make that commitment, they create a systematic payoff plan just for you. And it’s free! You can also play around with the numbers to see how soon you can pay off your debt or how much of a difference a certain monthly payment would make. Over 19 million in debt has been paid off already! (That deserves a hand clap.) I recently created a free account to take a test drive.
How Does Ready for Zero Work?
The first thing you do is compile what you owe, and to whom you owe it. Similar to Mint.com, you link your accounts to begin creating a plan. Security is top-notch and they use bank level security. You never have to give your credit card number or social security number either.
Once you compile everything you owe, you can see the big picture. Even if it’s ugly, at least you can see it. What’s the first step to getting out of debt? That’s right, admitting that you are in debt and need help. Now you can make your plan. That wasn’t so hard was it?
Make a Plan to Get Out of Debt Faster with ReadyForZero.
How Can Ready for Zero Help Me Pay Off Debt?
I also had a chance to speak with Ignacio Thayer, the co-founder and CTO of Ready for Zero. In the spring of 2010, co-founders Rod Ebrahimi and Ignacio joined forces at Y Combinator, an 18 hour a day digital business incubator. Within 6 months, their team began to apply technical knowledge to solve a non technical problem, American consumer debt.
Is there a such thing as good debt/bad debt in your opinion?
“Debt can be necessary, such as paying for education and medical expenses, but it’s better to avoid debt and to pay it off as quickly as possible. The best time to think about how debt will impact your finances is before you accumulate it. On our blog, we provide strategies for paying off all kinds of debt, including mortgages, student loans and credit cards. We also provide a lot of personal stories, where people reflect about which debts ended up being necessary, and which they regretted.”
Who does ReadyForZero work best for?
“ReadyForZero works best for people who want to get out of debt on their own and who are looking for an easy-to-follow debt payment plan. It’s also a great motivational tool, as we all could sometimes use a little boost.”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
“One of the things we’re proudest of is our success stories, which you can check out here. We often form personal connections with these successful users and it really motivates our work. For example, we had someone pay off over 37000 in debt using ReadyForZero. We were floored.”
–Ignacio Thayer, CTO
Ready to pay off your debt? Don’t wait, get Ready for Zero!
About LaTisha Styles
