When it comes to debt, the Great Recession will be remembered for the turmoil created in the housing market. But the news doesn't always have to be bad. In fact, the time has never been better to reflect on past spending habits and start a plan to get out of debt.
We’re not going to mess around here. I’ll tell you what I did to ditch my debt and detail 40+ tips to get you out of debt as quickly as possible.
And that’s not all yet. I’ll also provide helpful tools and warn you what services to avoid.
Want to know what we cover in the How to Get Out of Debt Fast course?
Everything below and more. Plus, you get a bunch of free tools with it.
Without further ado, here are a hefty 40+ tips to get out of debt fast—
1. Commit to going fast
What would you rather do?
Get out of debt slowly over the course eight years? Or work it hard and get out in eighteen months?
If you voted for the eight-year option, you won’t like this list.
In fact, you might just want to stop reading and go back to sitting on your boat with your buddies. Have fun being mediocre for life.
If, however, you think the rip-the-band-aid approach is best, I totally agree—and that’s the mentality I had when making this list.
Remember
Commit to going fast early on, and you’ll absolutely do it (probably faster than you ever thought possible).
2. Choose the best get-out-of-debt option for you
If you love the debt snowball like I do—use it and run with it.
Remember
If you’re more of a math nerd and can’t stand leaving those high-interest debts till later in your payoff journey, then use the debt avalanche method (where you pay the high-interest debts first and leave the low-interest debts for later).
Either way, just commit to a method and pay off that debt as fast as possible.
Need some help with your debt avalanche? Here’s our free debt avalanche spreadsheet.
Still not sure which debt payoff option to choose? Use our debt snowball vs debt avalanche payoff sheet.
With this tool, you can actually see each debt payoff method, tweak your extra monthly payment, and then choose the best one.
3. Get yourself in a stable spot financially
Remember
If you constantly find yourself behind on your bills and making late payments, it’s not yet time to pay off your debts.
You first need to get yourself on stable ground:
List out your upcoming bills for the month.
Write down when you get paid each week (or every other week).
Ask yourself, “Will I have enough money between each paycheck to pay the bills?”
If not, you’ve got to figure out how to cut down on or rearrange your expenses. (Either that or start making more money.)
Likely though, it’s probably just you being disorganized. Once you get a grip on yourself and make peace with your finances, you can start tackling the debt with a vengeance.
4. Sell everything that you’re not using
The first “money step” is to look at everything in your house and ask yourself if you’ll use them in the next year:
Fans
Cars
Tents
Tools
Bikes
Books
Movies
Clothes
Weights
Furniture
Pots/pans
Treadmills
Appliances
Sleeping bags
Building materials
If not, sell them.
Sure, you might need them in three years, but you need the cash now. Sell them and start paying off your debt.
Remember
You can afford something nicer in three years when you’re totally debt-free and on your way to millionaire status.
5. Save up a quick $2,000–$3,000 emergency fund
After you sell a bunch of stuff, you’ll probably get close to having your mini-emergency fund in place.
If you have a bit more to go, work some side jobs with your friend that’s always asking you for help. That should close the gap on your emergency fund goal pretty quickly.
Once you have your emergency fund, it’ll be tempting to put that money straight toward the debt—don’t do it.
You’ll need it for any unknown expenses that might come your way.
You don’t know what it will be (or when it will hit) but let me assure you—an emergency will come. (It always does.)
And you don’t want to go backwards on your debt journey when it happens.
Remember
Save up the fund, put it in a separate savings account, and forget about it until an emergency happens.
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6. Cut out any expenses you don’t need
You know how you sold a bunch of stuff in step four? That was for your emergency fund.
Now the moment has arrived to get yourself out of debt: Time to cut your spending that you really don’t need.
Download your checking account, credit card, and digital wallet detail. Then sift through it to find anything that’s not a need, and you can do without.
(Not sure how to do this? The How to Get Out of Debt Fast course shows you the step-by-step instructions, so you don’t need to go into it blindly.)
Look for spending items like:
Subscriptions
Coffee shops
Amazon (some of these might be a need, but are they all?)
Recreation
Decor
Clothing
Vacation
Weddings travel/gifts
Concerts
Drinks at the bar/club
You might be getting ticked right about now.
Am I trying to tell you not to have any fun?
Of course not.
Remember
You can still have all the fun you want—just do it at the park, your friend’s house, or a free concert downtown.
You want to get out of debt fast, right? Cut way back on spending this year, and you can literally do anything you want once all your debt is gone and you have a heap of cash at your disposal.
Believe me, it’s totally worth the short-term sacrifice.
7. Negotiate the monthly expenses you need to keep
There are some expenses you just can’t do away with:
Utilities
Trash service
Taxes
Cell phone service
But some of these expenses can be negotiated.
First, call your current provider. Let them know that your budget is tight and you’re looking for expenses to cut.
Tell them you’re looking around at other services, but you first wanted to call them to see if there’s any way they could reduce your bill. They’ll likely find something.
Remember
Once they give you a discount, keep checking around to see if you can get a better deal.
If you don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere, try my friends at BillCutterz. They can negotiate on your behalf.
If they find savings, you just pay them half of what they saved you in that first year. (If they find you nothing, you owe them nothing.)
8. Stop using credit cards
No, credit cards aren’t evil (we actually recommend a list of the top credit cards on our site). But it doesn’t make sense to pay off debt on one side and then borrow from the other.
That’s like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom. It’s just pointless.
Remember
While you’re paying off your debt, push pause on using those credit cards.
9. Work some side jobs with a friend that needs your help
If you want to start paying down your debt immediately but don’t have a quick source of additional income, check around with your friends.
I have plenty of buddies with side gigs that could use an extra hand from time to time—and I bet you do too.
Remember
Come up with a fair price for your assistance, and get to work.
10. Set your goal
Quite a few “personal finance experts” would tell you to budget and set your goals as your step one.
Not me—and that’s not how I start the How to Get Out of Debt Fast course either.
Remember
Take action from the get-go: sell a bunch of stuff, build up a quick emergency fund, and start paying down debt. And then we can go back and set up a structured plan after starting the process.
At this point, it’s time to tweak and solidify what you’ve probably already got in your head.
Pop open the Debt Snowball Spreadsheet (or—if you bought the course already—use the Debt Snowball vs. Avalanche Spreadsheet Calculator that came with it) and think about how quickly you’d like to get out of debt.
Then figure out the additional monthly payments that you’ll need to crush it.
And presto, there’s your goal.
Now it’s up to your brain to figure out how to make it happen.
11. Set up milestones
Remember
The best way to help your brain process what’s needed to hit your overall goal is to make some milestones (some checkpoints to hit along the way to your grandiose goal).
Let’s say you have $100k in student loan debt, and you want it completely gone in two years.
When you put that in the calculator, you discover that you’ll need an extra $4,000 a month to make that happen.
Well, there you go, now you’ve got your milestone goals: $4,000 each month.
12. Reward yourself along the way
Want to add some motivation to your debt payoff journey?
Allow yourself little splurges when you hit certain milestones (like buying yourself a $20 gift after paying off $10,000 in debt).
Mine was a Detroit Tigers hat. It’s nothing special, but I still have it today and love to wear it because of what it represents.
That hat is proof that I can win—even during the absolute lowest of lows in my life.
Remember
Your little victory splurges should (and will) be meaningful to you too.
13. Commit any extra money toward your debt
You might think you never earn extra money, but you do:
Overtime
Bonuses
Tax refunds
Gift money
And if you get paid bi-weekly, there are two months a year where you actually get paid three times.
Remember
Don’t just spend this money on a whim. Commit yourself right now to put it toward your debts.
14. Know your “why”
This point is super important.
In terms of your longevity in this debt payoff game, I’d say it’s actually the most important.
Why do you want to get out of debt? Because it sounded fun? I don’t think so.
Get down to the meat and potatoes of your heart here—
What is the real reason you want to get out of debt?
Do you want to provide a better future for your kids?
Are you sick of that pit in your stomach at the end of every month when you’re not sure if you’ll have enough money?
Or maybe you just want to prove everyone wrong that said you’re a loser and that you’re going nowhere in life.
Remember
Your “why” is going to keep you moving.
When life gets tough, you’re going to think about your kids, that sick financial feeling, or that schmuck that dared to say you’re worthless.
Then you’ll picture yourself winning against all odds, no matter what anyone says or thinks about you.
You have your reason. And you will not fail.
15. Make a monthly budget
If you want to maximize your debt payoff efforts, you’ve got to know what you’re spending each day, week, and month.
Remember
Set monthly budget goals, track your spending, and put all excess funds toward your debt each month.
When creating a household budget, it's important to distinguish between wants and needs.
Discretionary vs Mandatory Expense
Not sure where to start with your budget? Check out our top free monthly and weekly budget planners.
Want something more automated? We have some great options for that too:
16. Make a goal chart and keep it visible
Life is busy. It’s easy to forget about your goals after a while.
And I probably don’t need to tell you, but if you’re not thinking about your goals, that means you’re not hitting them.
To combat this, make a goal chart and put it where you can see it.
It can be a thermometer that you color in. Or maybe you want to make it more fun (more personal): an image of stacked-up credit cards, a diploma, a car, or maybe all of them combined.
Remember
Update your goal chart each day to keep your mind actively thinking about what you want to achieve and when you want to be totally debt-free.
17. Get your partner on board (like, for real)
This one is key.
If you and your significant other aren’t fully on board with getting out of debt, the race to the finish will be extremely difficult.
It’s the difference between running a marathon with a buddy that’s encouraging you every step of the way, and one that you’re dragging in a sled while he ignores you and chats with all the other runners as they whiz by (or worse, he’s shouting at you, telling you how slow you are and how you’ll never finish the race).
Remember
If you’re married and your spouse doesn’t want to get out of debt, don’t try to pay off a bunch of it without them. It just doesn’t work.
Either get them on board or take small, slow steps toward progress. If you try to push them, you will have a perpetually rocky marriage (or a completely broken one).
18. Involve the kids
Kids can be great motivators, and they could even make your debt payoff journey fun.
Remember
Be real with your kids about your situation—about how you want to get out of debt to make a better life for them in the future.
Then include them in your efforts to cut costs and make more money. To them, it turns into a game.
But be warned: If you try to cheat and spend money that you shouldn’t, they will call you out on it—
19. Downsize your house
Cutting out your $9 Netflix subscription is great, but it’s not going to move the needle on your debt.
If you want to become debt-free (and do it in this lifetime), you’ve got to find those big expenses and bring them way down.
Remember
Everyone’s biggest expense is their mortgage or rent.
Save money on rent
If you’re renting right now, that’s perfect.
You likely have a one-year lease and can find something cheaper to reduce your monthly spending.
Here are some great ways to save money on rent:
Find an above-garage apartment.
Rent a room instead of an entire place to yourself.
Rent a space that’s smaller or outside the city limits.
Another great hack is to find a home that’s vacant.
It may have belonged to an elderly couple, and now the kids own it and don’t quite know what to do with it.
If you assure them you’ll take care of the property while they figure it out, you’ll likely get an insane deal.
This scenario doesn’t come up often, but it does happen, so be sure to keep your eyes open—
Save on your mortgage
If you own a home, saving on your monthly mortgage payment is a bit more difficult, but here are some ideas:
Rent out a room.
And if you’re going to move soon anyway, it might be worth selling your house and finding a cheap rental.
Selling your home
One of the easiest ways to get out of debt is by selling your home and using the equity to pay off all your loans. You could clear all your debts in a matter of days.
But do I often recommend it?
Nope.
Why not?
For two reasons:
First, you don’t learn anything since you really didn’t feel the pain of getting yourself out of debt. (You’ll likely just get yourself back into debt and have the same problems all over again.)
Second, you’re putting yourself farther behind financially. (You’re selling your largest asset that was appreciating in value, and now you’re likely going to rent while housing prices continue to go up. Not smart.)
Selling your house is an option, but it’s not one I recommend (unless you’re planning on moving soon anyway).
20. Sell your car(s)
Your car is another costly item in your monthly budget.
Consider these:
Car payments
Insurance payments
Maintenance costs
Fuel costs
Just those four bullet points could easily cost you $1,000 a month.
Remember
If you’re trying to figure out how to get out of debt with no money, getting rid of your four wheels is your ticket.
If you can do without a car entirely, sell it.
But how do you get around?
Walk.
Bike.
Take the bus.
Hop on your city train.
Get an Uber once in a while.
Or maybe you could regularly hitch a ride with someone (like a work buddy).
And if you truly can’t live without your car, then at least get something cheaper.
Believe it or not, there are still plenty of dependable rides out there for under $5,000.
21. Stop with the expensive toys
“Big boy toys,” as my Dad calls them—boats, quads, snowmobiles, wave runners, dune buggies, and even those top-of-the-line super unnecessary zero-turn lawnmowers—are complete money pits.
Not only do they cost quite a lot of money to buy, but they also:
Go down in value.
Cost money in insurance.
Need repairs.
And they suck gas like nobody’s business.
Remember
Recreational toys will suck your wallet dry—and if you want to save money and pay off debt, I say get rid of them.
They’ll earn you cash (to put toward your debts) and will severely reduce your expenses each month.
22. Find free fun
If you sell all your toys, and you’re not going out to eat, and you’re not going to the coffee shop—what are you going to do for fun?
C’mon.
Remember when you were in college and had no money?
Did you have fun? Absolutely.
What did you do?
You hung out with friends at their place and ate pizza.
Played video games.
Had a bonfire.
Played frisbee.
Went on hikes.
Went to the beach.
Attended city events.
Walked around downtown.
Went to the mall and tried on random hats.
And if you were nerdy like I was, you went to Barnes and Noble with your friends and looked at books for hours (that was just me, wasn’t it?).
Remember
Having fun isn’t about spending money—it’s about getting creative and enjoying who you’re with.
23. Stop eating out (it all adds up)
I already spilled the beans (excuse the pun) on this one in the last get-out-of-debt tip.
Going out to eat is expensive.
Even Mcdonald’s is about twice what you’d pay if you just made a meal and ate it at home.
Remember
Simply stop eating out—and you’ll likely save hundreds of dollars a month.
24. Stop with the lattes
While Ramit Sethi may disagree, saving money on lattes is a real thing.
If you get a $7 latte every weekday, that equates to $140 every month. That’s $1,680 a year—
Yikes.
Instead of mindlessly swinging through the coffee shop drive-thru, why not save that money and get out of debt even faster?
Remember
What would you rather have? A steady flow of expensive caffeine or a wealthy lifestyle?
Me? I’m brewing my coffee at home and enjoying complete debt freedom.
25. Learn to say no
We live in a society that almost forces you to say yes to everything.
It’s somehow a travesty to say, “No, thank you.”
You don’t need to go to every concert, every family vacation, or even every wedding (especially if it’s for your great step-niece).
Remember
If it’s not in the budget, kindly say, “I’d love to, but I’m really trying to get a handle on my finances. I just don’t have the money right now.”
Don’t be ashamed that you’re watching your pennies. (You’ll probably get a lot of kudos, actually.)
And, of course, you’ll save a bunch of money in the process and can load it toward your debts.
26. Give more
Okay, I know. This one sounds counterintuitive, right?
Save money by giving it away. Great idea, Derek (eye roll).
But it is an absolutely great idea.
Why?
Let me ask you this: What got you into debt in the first place?
You like stuff, you wanted stuff, and you thought you deserved stuff. So you went into debt for it.
Remember
When you start to give, you begin to understand the needs out there in the world.
Suddenly, you become much more appreciative of what you already have.
And when you’re more content, you want less, and you’ll therefore buy less.
So give more, want less—and get out of debt faster.
27. Cut back on tax payments if you get a refund each year
The average tax return in 2023 was $2,827i. That means the average person paid $235 too much for taxes each month.
Remember
Want to pay off your debts faster? Stop paying too much for taxes.
Instead, put that $235 toward your debt every month.
How can you do this? Simply adjust the number of withholding allowances you’re claiming on your W4.
Not sure how? The IRS website is actually a pretty good resource and will help you choose the right number for your situation.
28. Stop investing beyond the match
Remember
Investing is important—but if you want to pay down debt fast, you’ll need to pull back the reigns on investing for a bit.
Unlike Mr. Ramsey, I’m fine with you investing some money into your retirement, but only put in what’s required to get the match from your company.
Beyond that, it makes more sense to put any additional money straight toward your debt.
29. Reduce insurance costs by raising the deductibles
Before you started paying off your debts, you set up your small emergency fund (the $2,000–$3,000 I suggested).
With that buffer, you can increase your insurance deductibles, which will save you money every month in insurance premiums. (This applies to all your insurance items: home, car, medical, and others.)
Remember
If you agree to pay a deductible of $1,000 instead of $100 in the event of an accident, you’ll owe less per month in insurance costs.
With those monthly savings, you can just put that much more money toward your debts.
30. Stop paying for expensive life insurance
Whole life insurance is almost always a rip-off—your contributions go toward insuring your life, but also toward savings and investments (which often underperform the general stock market).
Remember
In most cases, you’re better off investing in a 10-year or 20-year term life insurance policy for $20–$30 a month.
Sure, the policy will end when you’re 50 or 60 years old, and you may receive zero benefits (because you’re still alive), but at that point you’ll be debt-free and extremely wealthy (which means you don’t need a life insurance policy, anyway).
If you die late in life, your surviving relatives will get your monster estate (instead of your crappy whole life insurance policy that kept you broke while you were alive).
Stop paying for expensive life insurance and put that money toward your debt instead.
31. Work overtime
What’s the fastest way to pay off debt? Make a bunch of money.
And what’s the best way to make a bunch of money?
Work a bunch of overtime.
First off, overtime is the easiest option to increase your income if it’s available to you. Second, you’re probably making 1.5x your regular wage (or more) by doing it.
Remember
If you want to be debt-free in six months (or something quick like that), start working 10, 20, or 30 hours of overtime each week. Your paychecks will be massive.
Seem like a bit much? Remember that it’s only temporary.
32. Ask for a raise
Has it been a while since you got a raise?
Or maybe you’ve been constantly over-performing at work, and it’s time you get compensated for your efforts?
Then ask for a raise.
Go to your boss with all the info:
What you’ve done in the past year.
What your job pays elsewhere.
And what value you’re bringing to your corporation.
Remember
Make it impossible for them to say no.
And you know what? If they say no, it’s not the end of the world. But you’ll never know unless you try.
33. Put in for a promotion
There’s always going to be a churn of people at work. New folks will come in while others leave.
And that’s great news for you if you’re looking for a promotion.
Remember
If a position becomes available that you’d like and it offers more pay, put your name in the hat for it.
I mean, why not?
You’ll get more experience, more pay, and likely get you closer to an even better-paying position in the future.
If there aren’t any positions available, you could get creative and try to manufacture one.
Find a need around your work, start working extra to fulfill it, prove its worth—and then let your boss know you’d like a promotion based on your increased responsibilities.
It’s not the easiest way to get a promotion, but I’ve seen it done many times.
34. Get a better job somewhere else
Remember
One of the easiest ways to make more money (and pay off your debt faster) is by simply getting a job somewhere else.
I’ve known quite a few people that have job-hopped every couple of years and earned an extra $20,000 with each move.
And, if you’re lucky, you have a job that’s remote, which means you can job-hop to anywhere in the world.
When your work options span the globe, and you never have to move—that, my friend, is a fantastic way to boost your income and pay off your debt.
35. Get a part-time job
Remember
One of the better strategies for paying off debt is to get a high-paying part-time job.
Examples of this are:
Bartending
Waiting tables
Delivery
Security
Personal trainer
Tutoring
Web developer
And I’m sure there’s plenty more.
36. Start your own side gig
If you can’t find a good, high-paying part-time job to pay down your debt, then maybe it’s time to find a side gig.
But, just like I tell you in the "How to Get Out of Debt Fast" course, this side gig isn’t your dream business that you’d like to make a reality someday.
Remember
This side gig is for generating income now so you can be debt-free ASAP.
Here are some great side gigs that can start earning you money immediately:
Fixing cars
Cutting hair
Dog sitting
Dog walking
Making crafts
Mowing lawns
Detailing cars
Cleaning yards
Power washing
Painting houses
Staining decks
Cutting down trees
And there are a ton of other options, just like the ones above.
Just think about what people need and how you can fill that need right away. There’s money to be made there.
37. Keep moving fast
Don’t take your foot off the gas when you’re paying off your debt.
You will be tempted to deviate from your budget from time to time—maybe by taking a mini-vacation or splurging on yourself because of a “great deal” at the store.
Don’t do it.
Remember
Once you pause, you’ll likely never get started again.
It’s best to keep your eye on the prize: Don’t look left, don’t look right, just keep moving forward until all that debt is gone.
38. Find a cheerleader or an accountability partner
It can be difficult to stay motivated if you’re battling your debt on your own.
Remember
Find someone that has either already run this get-out-of-debt race, or is in the midst of trying to get out of debt themselves.
You can empathize with each other during life’s challenges and motivate one another as you go.
There’s nothing quite like having a friend in battle.
