If you have debt then you probably also have the desire to eventually get it paid off. It’s one thing to have the desire to pay it all off, but it’s another thing to actually take action and aggressively pay everything off. After all, do you really want to spend the rest of your life in an eternal state of “paying off my debt?”
Too many people have the best intentions of paying off their debt but then never seem to get on the right track with it. Here are 10 ways to get your debt paid off faster:
1. Get serious! It isn’t going to do you any good to decide to pay off your debt if you aren’t serious about it. Think about various times in your life when you have decided to take on something hard. You probably succeeded only after you made the conscious decision to do so. You’ll pay off your debt faster when you’re serious about it.
2. Map out your plan of attack. Don’t just start throwing money at your debt without some plan of attack in place. What will you pay off first? How much money will you put toward your debt? Will you cut out other expenses while paying your debt down? A comprehensive plan of attack will help you get your debt paid off faster.
3. Stop spending money you don’t have to spend. Instead of eating out, pack your lunch. Instead of stopping for coffee, brew your own at home. Any money you save, put toward your debt. The more money you have to put toward your debt, the faster it will get paid off. In short, live within your means.
4. Use some of your savings. If you’re comfortable with this idea, take some money out of your savings account and put it toward your debt. Make sure you leave enough money in your savings account for an emergency, but you’ll probably save more money from debt interest you won’t have to pay than if you had left the money in savings and earned the meager interest on the balance.
5. Chop up your cards. You’re asking for trouble if you keep using your credit card while you’re actively trying to pay it off. It’s better to stop using the card for a couple of reasons: You won’t add more money to the debt, and you’ll actually witness your balance decreasing. Seeing the balance decrease can help you stay motivated. Be careful canceling credit cards because it can affect your credit score. You don’t need to cancel your cards to cut them up and stop using them.
6. Get another job. Find a way to bring in some extra money, and put all of that extra money straight to your debt. Make sure the extra job you find is worth the effort, because a long commute across town to work a minimum wage job may wind up costing you more than if you had never taken the job to begin with.
7. Make sure everyone is on board. If you share your finances with a spouse or someone else you have to make sure that everyone involved is willing to make the sacrifices necessary to get everything paid off. If everyone is on board then the debt will get paid off more quickly than if one person is dead set on getting the bills paid while the other person only wants to shop.
8. Consolidate. You might be able to save quite a bit of money in interest and get your debt paid off faster if you consolidate all your accounts into one low-interest account. Don’t consolidate if it’s not going to help you, though.
9. Sell some stuff. With online auctions and good old fashioned garage sales you can unload a bunch of stuff that you don’t need or want anymore. Take the profits from your sales and put it right to your debt. You’ll get debt paid off faster and you won’t have to deal with excess clutter in your house.
10. Periodically reevaluate. As your balances start to dwindle, periodically take a look at the bigger picture and see if there is something you should be going to get everything paid off even faster. If something isn’t working, change it.
Of all these items on the list, perhaps the most important is #1: Get Serious. Even if you’re willing to work extra hours and do whatever you can to get some extra money in your hands, without the true intent to put it toward your debt you’ll probably just wind up spending the money instead of putting it to your bills.
Get serious! You’ll pay off your debt much faster if you’re serious about getting it done.
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