Debt. It’s not fun. And it can very often overstay its welcome. After you invite it in, with a necessary loan here and a credit card purchase there, it’s so hard to get rid of it, and it can end up making life a lot more difficult than it needs to be, especially when you factor in interest payments that totally eat up your cash. But the good news is that you don’t have to let debt linger forever – you can deal with it. And here are some ways to pay off debt faster.

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Photo by Mikhail Nilov

Start By Knowing What You Owe

Before you start tackling debt, you need to face it head-on, which can be hard, but it’s vital, and the fact is that avoiding your balances won’t make them disappear (if only!). You should make a list of everything you owe, including interest rates and minimum payments, and then you’ll know where you are – seeing the full picture can be daunting, but it’s also the first step towards taking control.

After that, once you know your numbers, it’s time to prioritise your debts. High-interest loans should be your first target because they drain your finances the fastest, and if you’re juggling lots of different debts, why not try either the avalanche method (paying off the highest interest first) or the snowball method (starting with the smallest debt for quick wins)? It’ll give you something to aim for and some structure to your payments too. 

Find Extra Money In Unexpected Places

If your budget is tight, it’s time to get creative – you might think you’ve used up all your money, but the truth is that there’s more money to be found in your life than you might think. Got a wardrobe full of clothes you never wear? Sell them online. Have unused electronics gathering dust? Someone out there wants them – and you never know, they might actually get you more money than you thought they would. 

And if you really want to make a dent in your debt, have you thought about getting your car sold if you don’t need it as much as you thought? Trading in a high car payment for a cheaper ride (or even going car-free for a while because public transport might be easier to use than you realised, and you might even end up liking it more) can free up money – perhaps quite a lot more than you expected – to throw at your debt. 

Cut Out Small Spending Habits 

Small spending habits can add up, and that’s the danger – buying a few small things here and there might not seem like much, but when you tot up the total, it’s often scarier than you expected.

It’s important to take a close look at your subscriptions, impulse buys, and those seemingly harmless takeaways and be honest about how much you’re actually spending. And don’t worry; cutting back doesn’t mean giving up everything fun, it just means being a bit cleverer about things. You could swap a pricey gym membership for home workouts, cook at home more often, and rethink expensive coffee every day (do it every other day, and you’ll immediately save money), for example. The money you save can go straight into your debt repayment plan.