4 Best Hacks For Getting Out Of Debt Quickly


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snowball method to pay off debt

Being saddled with any amount of debt is a stressful thing, and sometimes it can feel like we are unable to escape its clutches, no matter how many lifestyle changes we make, it seems that we are never able to get out of those major problems.

So it begs the question, are there any methods that do work when it comes to beating your debt? In fact, there is one that has been very successful, and that is the snowball method.

So how does it work, and how can you use it effectively?

What Is The Snowball Method?

The basics of this method are about listing your debts, from the smallest to the largest outstanding balance. In addition to paying off the minimum on every debt, you use all the remaining money you have towards clearing that smallest debt. Once that smallest debt has been paid off, you go to the next item of debt and do the same, until every item has been paid off.

What Are Its Benefits?

In addition to it being a very suitable approach to paying off every item of debt, by starting out with the smallest item of debt, it's easier to pay that off, so it feels like you have control over your finances. It's also very empowering to see your debt be paid off, and the issue with lots of debt is that because of things like interest, it becomes harder to pay off, so this method keeps you focused.

Is There Anything Else To Help The Process?

Debt consolidation is always one of those processes that comes in handy when trying to reduce any debt. But also, it is handy to make the most of credit card deals that can be used to pay off things like your overdraft. You can have a look at best.creditcard to see if any deals can suit your predicament. But also, in finding ways to manage your bigger debts, it's always beneficial to speak to the creditors themselves. This can be a very overwhelming experience, but there are ways to navigate around the issue, and this is all about being able to meet them halfway. Compromise is a very difficult thing when speaking to creditors because lots won't be moved as far as payments are concerned, but there are resources like extension.umn.edu that can give you a crash course in compromise!

Why It Works

In addition to the instant gratification aspect of seeing your debts being paid off, it has now been proven that people who start by tackling the smaller balances are going to be able to eliminate their overall debt, instead of trying to pay the highest balance is first. A study in 2012 by Northwestern’s Kellogg School Of Management came to this conclusion, as did the Harvard Business Review in 2016.

As a way to get out of emotional turmoil as well as the financial one when trying to pay off your debt, there aren't many methods that come better than this. So, if you find yourself struggling, give this a go.

4 Best Hacks For Getting Out Of Debt Quickly

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1 comment
Dave @ Married with Money says December 15, 2017

I like the debt snowball (it’s what I used when getting out of debt) but it’s important that people understand it’s mathematically inferior to the debt avalanche.

Still, i feel like the results of the snowball method speak for themselves. I would love to see some sort of analysis on the psychological impacts of the snowball method and its acceleration of a debt pay-down strategy (and compare those results to the avalanche method).

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