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March 18, 2021

Take Control of Debt

It’s all too easy to get boxed into a corner by debt. Accumulating interest and multiple minimum monthly payments can eat away at your budget. Even worse is when debt starts to feel overwhelming. It can sap your confidence and affect your emotional health and overall well-being.

The good news is that debt and its effects can be managed. There are many excellent resources and experts available to help you attack debt in a variety of ways — such as tackling each debt obligation in sequence, budgeting to pay off all simultaneously, or using debt consolidation to simplify payments. Whichever approach is right for you, a great first step is debt awareness.

To help you gain awareness of your debt position, consider this small step.

Small Step: Document Your Debt

Calculating your total debt is a proactive, critical first step to overcoming it. Having it documented in one place can make debt feel more manageable. This interactive worksheet provided by Fidelity, our recordkeeping services provider, is an easy way to start. Enter your information before printing, and the worksheet will total balances and monthly payments for you.

Get Worksheet

Motivated to do more?

If you have an ELCA retirement plan account with Portico:

If you have ELCA-Primary health benefits with Portico:

  • Take the Financial course in Being, specifically lesson 3, “Dealing With Debt.”

An additional step anyone can try:

  • Try the LSS Financial Counseling Snowball Calculator, a highly detailed self-serve planning tool.

This material and any opinions are for educational purposes only. Information presented shall not be construed as offering or disseminating specific financial, retirement, asset protection, tax, or legal advice.