How to Pay Off These 4 Types of Debt

Author: Denise Hill / Source: Wise Bread

Getting and staying out of debt is tough. Many people try and fail, or they succeed only to become ensnared the vicious cycle over and over again. Eliminating debt takes lots of grit and determination, and strategically attacking your debt will save you time, energy, and money.

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Before you get started, you should know that each type of debt requires a slightly different strategy. Here’s how to tackle different types of debt, and get rid of it once and for all.

Credit card debt

The best way to attack credit card debt is by using the debt snowball. With this method, you begin by attacking the smallest debt while paying the minimum on everything else. Once one debt is paid, you take all the money you were paying on the first card and apply it to the second biggest balance. Rinse and repeat.

You may be tempted to attack them based on interest rate, which is also known as the debt avalanche. And that will work. However, you must keep in mind that debt is more mental than it is logical. You probably didn’t use a ton of logic to get into debt. And logic won’t inspire you to get out of debt. The debt snowball approach allows you to get quick wins by conquering smaller debts before taking on the larger ones, which require more time and patience. Winning becomes a contagious habit that helps you build momentum.

You also may want to contact your credit card companies and request that they lower your interest rate. Some will and some won’t, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. (See also: 2-Minute Guide: How to Use Balance Transfers to Pay Off Credit Card Debt)

Car and personal loans

Auto and personal loans are a little different from credit card debt. However, they follow the same principle for repayment. First, make sure you understand the repayment terms and then contact the lender and ask them to reduce your interest rate.

In addition to using the debt snowball, a great repayment strategy for this type of debt is to call the lending agency and set up bi-weekly payments instead of paying monthly. The minimum payment doesn’t change, you just make 26 payments a year versus 12. This lowers the total amount of interest you will pay over the life of the loan. When you pay more than the minimum payment, you’ll slash months — even years — off the total repayment time.