18 Ways To Become Debt Free

How can you become debt free, and is it worth it?

I hear people say they became debt free, and I often wonder what it really means. Because……….most times they are still paying a mortgage and/or a car note.

Everybody owes somebody, even rich people use credit. They may pay it off but at the moment they swipe, they owe.

So, does debt free mean you have paid off all your debt or does it mean you have paid off all your “bad” debt.

Can one truly be debt free?

What is debt ?

Debt is borrowing money from an entity. Now by entity, I mean: a person, a company, a financial institution, or government.

Some debt is considered “good debt”. When debt is going to increase your income, it is considered good debt. That makes sense!

This means your student loans and mortgage can be considered “good debt” because it has the potential to increase your income and grow your wealth.

Any debt, however, can turn bad if the rates are too high or it is not handled responsibly. So with that being said, if you aspired to be debt free, could you do it? Is it really possible or even plausible?

First, let’s take a look at 18 ways to become “debt free”....................

18 ways to become debt free

Debt avalanche

Refinance debt

Debt snowball

Re-examine your budget

Build a budget

Bump up your debt repayment percentage

Dedicate unexpected windfalls to your debt

Use savings to pay down larger debts

Meet with a credit counselor

Use your tax refund check to pay down debt

Negotiate debt settlement

Sell items for cash

Consolidate debt with a personal loan

Consider withdrawing from your life insurance

Use a cash-out refinance

Do a credit card balance transfer

Pay more than the minimum payment

File for bankruptcy (Last resort)

Debt avalanche

If you are contemplating making a break from mountains of debt, one method you could try is called “debt avalanche”. Debt avalanche is when you pay debt according to the APR %.

For example, if you have a credit card that has 25.5% APR, you would pay this off first, then pay off your car note that has an 6% APR.

You could do this with personal loans, student loans, mortgage, etc.

You would pay the minimum balance on all your loans, but pay a higher amount on the debt that has a higher APR %, until you are done with it.

Then move on to the next one.

Refinance debt

Interest is sometimes what kills us when it comes to debt. Most people don’t even see it coming, because they don’t see it’s costing them down the line.

They want to know what it will cost them now!

That's how lenders are hoping you think, when it comes to interest rates.

But to combat this, search for lower interest rates and refinance your debt. You can do this with just about any loan you have.

The less interest you have the faster you can pay off debt.

Debt snowball

Debt snowball is when you pay off your smallest debt first. You will still pay the minimum on your other debt. But you will put a larger amount on your smallest debt to pay it off.

For those of you who like to celebrate the small wins, this is a great strategy for you. It makes you feel like you are accomplishing something.

And, you are!

But, debt can be overwhelming and paying it off this way will give you little things to celebrate along the way.