| If you're like most people you have a few debts you'd | | | | to each debt account. |
| like to get rid of and are interested in doing this as | | | | 3. Each month, pay your bills as usual, but at the fixed |
| quickly as possible to save yourself as much money | | | | payment amount you've set initially (i.e., don't reduce |
| as possible. One of the most effective ways to | | | | your payment each month to match the minimum due.) |
| accomplish paying off your debts quickly is to create a | | | | When a credit card or other debt is paid off, apply the |
| rapid debt repayment plan. Creating a rapid debt | | | | monthly payment you were paying to the top priority |
| repayment plan involves a few simple steps: | | | | debt remaining on your list. Continue this debt |
| 1. Make a list of the debts you want to pay off, in the | | | | management strategy until all your debts are paid. |
| order you want to pay them off. | | | | Again, prioritizing by interest rate will save you the |
| Some people like to order these by interest rate, with | | | | most time and money overall, but putting a few small |
| the highest interest rate debts listed first - to be paid | | | | debts at the top of your list, regardless of interest rate, |
| first. Other people like the perceived psychological | | | | may give you the extra little psychological boost you |
| advantage of prioritizing their debts by balance, small to | | | | need to stick to your rapid debt repayment plan. As |
| large. This is part of the debt management plan used | | | | you can see, the concept behind a rapid debt |
| when doing a 'debt snowball'. A debt snowball plan | | | | repayment plan is quite simple and effective. It can |
| helps some people to keep motivated on their debt | | | | eliminate years and months of making payments to |
| repayment goals by giving reinforcement (paying off | | | | your loans and can save you many thousands of |
| more credit card or other debt bills) more quickly in the | | | | dollars in interest. It is a primary tool you can use to |
| beginning. | | | | achieve your debt management goals. |
| 2. Total the current monthly payments you're making | | | | |