Strategies for Paying Off Debt on Mom’s Love Shopping

Money is one of the biggest sources of worry, anxiety, and divorce among adults. So many people struggle to make ends meet and incur thousands of dollars in credit card debt along the way.

This week on Mom’s Love Shopping guest host Carrie Lauth interviewed me about two strategies that anyone can use to pay off their credit card debts.

There is no one perfect way to eliminate debt; the important thing is to choose a payment plan that you can live with and commit to.

You can find more great ways to eliminate your debt in the Living Debt Free ebook.

Seth Godin on Getting Out of Debt

I never expected to see a personal finance blog post by Seth Godin, but I am totally lovin’ it!

Urgent personal finance advice

by Seth Godin

If I could only share one piece of personal finance advice to grads or to just about anyone, it would be this:

Only borrow money to pay for things that increase in value.

It’s a short list: your business, your house and your education, mostly. Stocks if you’re smarter than me. That’s pretty much it.

If you have credit card debt, you’re in big trouble. Your bank account has a huge leak in it, and it’s getting worse. Hence the urgency.

Getting out of debt: how to stay motivated

Getting out of debt is a goal that many Americans would like to achieve.  But, like many New Year’s resolutions, this goal is often abandoned shortly after the goal is set.  Why is that?

One reason is that getting out of debt often takes a long time, so there are no immediate rewards for paying off debt.  This leads to a lack of motivation to meet this goal.  After all, it’s hard to keep with a debt management plan when you may not see the benefits for several years.

The Fastest Way to Pay Off Debt

There’s some debate among financial planners as to the best way to pay down debt. Some say paying the highest interest rate debt first is the best way; others say paying the smallest balance first is the best way.

Both methods have advantages and disadvantages, so we’ll take a look at both, and help you decide which method is best for you.

Method #1 – Highest Interest Rate

In this method, you focus on paying off your highest interest rate debts first. The basic steps in this method include: