Get rid of debt fast

Are you on the fast track to put you debt on ice? It’s not going to happen without a little budgetary elbow grease, but it can be done! The first step is developing a plan and committing to see it through.

Set a soft and a hard budget

You probably already have a budget. Why don’t you try developing a “soft” budget limit below what you’ve already set for your spending? It gives you a specific plan to try to generate a little more cash each month to pay down those debts. If you are always shooting for the soft target, but occasionally need to go over to the hard target because of some extra expenses, then you’re still on budget. Here are some debt solutions and tips for you:

Pay more than the minimum

You may be only making minimum payments, which may be doing little more than scraping away at that mountain of debt, because you are essentially covering the interest charges.  See what happens when you pay more than the minimum by using a debt calculator.

Pick a debt

If you focus mercilessly on a single debt, you’ll be able to knock it out of the way faster- and then you can move on to crushing the others. Pick the debt that is costing you the most money- either because of high interest or high balance.

Slash and save

It’s time to take a hard look at your spending to identify areas you can save on your spending.  Once you have identified these culprits, cut them out and direct that money to paying down your debts.  If you’ve got two cars, consider going down to a one car household. Cancel magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Cancel your cable- or look at bundling your services (cable, internet, and phone) for extra savings. The more you save, the more aggressively you can pay down your debt.

Consolidate

One way to increase your cash flow while reducing your debt load once and for all is to do a debt consolidation. Reduce your payments AND combine your debt payments into one single payment. This will give you a little more wiggle room in your budget and push you towards a cash-friendly way of operating.