How to Get Out of Minor Debt

There are numerous money experts on TV and the Internet, each with their own prescriptions for debt reduction. There's the Snowball Plan, the Bucket Method, the Debt Diet and at least half a dozen other plans designed to separate you from even more of your money. Getting out of debt, especially minor debt, takes common sense, which is sometimes hard to find when you are constantly worrying about your bills. If you have minor debt, with just a little effort on your part, you can whittle that debt down to nothing. There are some free, easy, relatively painless ways to get started on debt reduction.

Instructions

1

Prioritize your debts. Your secured debts, those for which someone can take something away from you if you don't pay (your car, your home) are the priority. Next in importance are those for which your wages can be garnished. These will include child support payments, taxes and student loans. Credit card and other unsecured debt will come next. Make a prioritized list of all your debts, in the order in which they will be paid.

2

Cut out spending on items that you don't need. Look at your credit card statements to get an idea of what you spend money on. If those items aren't absolutely necessary, stop buying them. Many families are doing without cable TV and putting that money toward their debt. If you have a landline and a cellular phone, get rid of one and use that money to pay off debt. Or, downgrade your cell service to a less expensive plan. Then, take the money you would have spent and put it toward the first item on your prioritized debt list. Even if you are sending the debt holder $20 per month, it is a start, and before you know it, the debt will be gone.

3

Sell items you no longer need or use. Have a garage sale or sell the items online at Craigslist or Ebay. Garages and attics generally become the repositories for items that we no longer use, so those rooms are a good place to begin your search. Selling these items will bring in some immediate money that you can put toward getting out of debt.