Top 10 Ways to Pay Off Debt Fast – Looking for great, easy ways to learn how to start paying off debt fast? This is exactly what you need to find the motivation to get started.
It’s a real fact that most of the people in our country have debt.
Here’s the deal – no matter how much debt you have, you want to pay it off… FAST.
The amount of debt you have doesn’t matter – if it’s $500 or $500,000, you still don’t want it hanging around, draining your bank account and stressing you out. That’s why you need these top ways to get out of debt fast.
You truly CAN get out of debt.
Will it be easy? No. No one said it would be.
BUT!
Will it be worth it? HECK YES!!!
Think of how much you could do with the money that you are currently sending to paying off your debts. What could you do with that?
- Pay a mortgage payment each month
- Start saving for college for the kids
- Send your kids to that awesome school
- Save for your retirement
- Travel the world
- Get a new car
It’s no uncommon to have minimum debt payments in the 4-figure range each month. That’s a LOT of money that you could be using to enjoy your life! So let’s tackle that debt!
Top 10 Ways to Pay Off Debt Fast
1. Find YOUR frugal people.
There’s a reason this is my number one tip – it’s important! You need people. I learned about Dave Ramsey as soon as I started getting serious about debt repayment. He taught me that my wild idea of paying off debt was possible. Second, I found a handful of money-saving bloggers that shared awesome advice about living on less.
You can’t force your closest family, friends, and co-workers to spend their money wisely. But you can fill your mind with positive stories, ideas, and frugal inspiration. Find someone who motivates you. Find someone who speaks to your soul. And stick with them until the end.
Related post: How to Make Saving Money Easy
2. Find a budgeting method that works for you.
There are dozens of different methods for budgeting. You can use a budgeting app, a website, a free printable or even a Google Sheet. My biggest tip is find something that you’ll actually follow each month.
Related post: Budgeting Books You NEED to Read
3. Write down your goals. And look at them often.
Once I figured out the amount of money we could squirrel away each month to pay off debt, I made a chart of how long it would take to pay off the whole debt. It was so motivating to have the debt divided into small chunks and to have an end date in mind.
If I focused on the total number, I would have been paralyzed with the fear of failure. But instead, I focused on the next pay cycle. I told myself over and over again, “I can pay off another $500 by the end of the month! Let’s do this thing.”
Related post: 6 Steps to Drastically Reduce Your Grocery Budget
4. Ruthlessly cut down expenses.
Do you know how much money I “found” in my budget after I started cutting out extras? More than $500! I saved $100 by switching to Republic Wireless for my cell phone. I saved $80 a month by shopping car insurance. Also, I saved $300 by sticking to a cash grocery budget.
Related post: 30+ Real Ways to Earn Money From Home
5. Then, cut out the expenses that you are afraid to cut.
My husband and I were afraid to break up with cable. We grew up in homes with all of the ultra-premium cable packages and we never pictured life without on-demand. I know it sounds silly, but we thought we couldn’t live in that kind of depravity.
But you know what? Our life is SO much better without it! Our kids watch more educational shows (whatever is on PBS or Netflix) and they aren’t inundated by commercials. Now my husband and I spend more time doing things that we enjoy.
I also found that cutting cable was the one thing financial cut that changed everything. Once we realized we could make the “scary” cuts and survive, there was no stopping us.
Related post: Money Saving Hacks from an Extreme Cheapskate
6. Find cheaper ways to enjoy the things that you loved.
Instead of depriving myself of all the things that I used to enjoy, I made a game out of finding ways to enjoy that same products or services for a fraction of the cost.
I discovered how to drink Starbucks coffee for .20 cents per cup. And I found the best stores to buy name-brand secondhand items for my kids. I was surprised to find that my quality of life didn’t change at all. In fact, now I live a better, richer life for less.
Related post: 5 Side Hustles That Pay For My Groceries (and More!)
7. Used your talents to earn money!
Okay, this is a big one. You have talents. Period. Even if you think you don’t, you really do.
And, more importantly, people will pay you for those talents!
Whether it’s being organized, taking great pictures, writing well, transcribing, proofreading, crafting, watching kids, being in customer service, flipping things from flea markets for profit… there’s a million ways to earn out there!
Here are some more ideas for you to make money to help pay off your debt:
- Make a Full Time Income Proofreading
- How to Make Money as a Freelance Writer
- 10+ Easy Ways to Earn $500
- How I Earn Money as a Stay-at-Home Mom
- How to Work at Home as a Transcriptionist
- Make $40,000 per Year From Home as a Bookkeeper
- How to Start Selling on Amazon FBA and Make a Full-Time Income
- How to Become a Virtual Assistant and Make a Full-Time Income Doing It!
- How to Start a Profitable Blog the Right Way
I’m positive that there is something that you are great at, too! Blogging is a great option if you love to write!
Related post: How to Start a Profitable Blog the Right Way
8. Address your grocery budget.
I have a love-hate relationship with my food budget. Groceries can blow your whole budget if you’re not careful. Meal planning was the single most powerful strategy that helped me stay on track. Luckily, there are hundreds of resources online to help you tackle your grocery budget.
Related post: How to Feed Your Family on a Budget (so You Don’t Feel Poor)
9. Fall in love with all things used.
Used does not always mean old, raggedy or cheap. Sometimes used means that you own really nice, expensive things that other people paid for at retail price that you now get to have for an awesome deal.
If you haven’t started buying used, stop paying retail prices for everything NOW and start buying used today. No, really, I mean it.
I haven’t bought brand new clothes in years thanks to our local Salvation Army and Goodwill. I can literally go there with $100 and get clothes for all 6 of us in my family for the entire season. It’s amazing! That same $100 wouldn’t have even bought one person a wardrobe for a season, let alone all 6 of us!
Our furniture, our cars, our house, the appliances we have… everything we buy is used. And all of that savings can go straight to paying down debt.
Related post: 7 Things Never to Buy Used
10. Never stop dreaming or believing that it IS going to happen.
Even when you are buried in debt, picture your student loan accounts going down to zero. Picture how you would burn the papers when the balance was 0. And picture your family going on a vacation to celebrate.
It’s important to daydream and think positively to stay on track when you are paying off debt. Never lose sight of what is moving you forward even when it gets hard.
Even if you’re using these top 10 ways to pay off debt, you know that paying off debt takes a while… but it’s 100% worth it!
Getting out of debt really is like climbing a mountain. The work is hard and grueling and you feel like it’s all you can do to just keep putting one foot in front of the other to keep moving forward. But once you get to the top, once the debt is paid off, you can see how far you’ve come and you can enjoy it all.
More money-saving resources:
- 10 Habits of Highly Frugal People
- 20 Things Frugal People Don’t Do
- How Much Should I Budget for Groceries?
- Budgeting Allows You to Spend MORE
- How to Save Money When You Don’t Feel Like It
- What Do You Do When You Get Behind on Bills
- The 2 Biggest Budgeting Lessons to Make Your Budget Stick
- Don’t Let Fear Stop You From Starting Your Blog!
- Everything You Need to Start Cloth Diapering
- How to Earn a Full-Time Income from Etsy
- How We Lived Well on $17,000 as a Family of Four
Have you ever paid off a large amount of debt? What worked (or didn’t work) for you?
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