How To Pay Off Debt

You must have not only a desire to get out of debt, but a burning desire.

Napoleon Hill said, whatever you want, 

it must be a "burning desire".

It must be your priority, 

something you think about all the time.

Too many of us are focused on the negative feelings our debt produces - shame, fear, guilt, scarcity, avoidance, etc.

Don't get consumed with these feelings.

Instead, see your debt pay-off journey as a game.  It's a puzzle for you to figure out.

Find all your accounts - 

online and physical statements.

Getting organized reduces uncertainty, 

which reduces stress.

Transparency and clarity give you the power to make better decisions.

Writing down your debt gives you a view of the whole picture.

Tracking your debt:

- shows you where you are today.

- gives you better decision-making ability

- allows you to create a strategy to pay it off 

Now that you know how much debt you have, you can create a goal.

How soon do you want to be debt-free?

How much can you pay off each month?

How much interest are you paying?

How can you earn extra cash to speed it up?

There are two popular strategies.

Debt Snowball

Pay off the smallest account first.

Debt Avalanche

Pay off the highest interest account first.

Regressive debt is bad debt; it's debt on depreciating assets.  

In others words, it's non-real estate debt.

Paying off bad debt is the first step to financial freedom.

Make this priority #1.

The best advantage you can give yourself and earning more money.  Every extra dollar you earn is another dollar toward your debt.

Get a part-time job, volunteer for over-time, find a better paying job, or create a side-hustle.

It's easy to get overwhelmed, especially if you have a lot of debt.

Depending on your strategy, pick the first account and focus all of your energy on it (while continuing to only pay the minimum monthly payments on all others).

The more expenses you can reduce, 

the faster you will get out of debt.

You don't have to give up everything, 

but you must prioritize.  

What are your true basic needs?

What can you live without in the short-run?

Interest gets expensive quickly.

A $20K loan at 5% is $83 every month.

A $50K loan at 7% is $292 every month.

1. Refinance into a lower rate.

2. Take advantage of 0% credit deals.

Selling something you no longer use or downsizing is a great way to reduce your debt quickly.

Do you have collectibles, an extra car, boat, motorcycle, or home which is holding you back?