Get Out of Debt Fast

1. First thing's first. A lot of people struggle to pay off loans because they have too many of them. If you've got a few credit cards and a few student loans, you feel overwhelmed and might just ignore all of it. Narrow the scope a little bit and focus on making one loan or credit card balance go away. Each month, put whatever extra money you've got to that balance so you can see it slowly go down. Make minimum payments on everything else and ignore that other debt; your focus is on making one problem go away. When it's gone, you're going to feel very accomplished.

2. Stop spending. So many people with credit card debt sit around hoping for a miracle while still racking up new spending charges on that same card. You have to ask yourself, and then answer honestly, what's the vice that you keep spending on? Dining out, travel, shopping-whatever it is, you have to stop so you can get things in order. You don't have to be frugal forever, but you can't expect to pay off debt when you won't stop accruing more debt on unnecessary spending. These habits are so hard to break, especially if you have friends and family who urge you to spend with them. If you want to get out of debt, you have to change your behavior, at least for a little while. It'll be hard at first and worth it in the end.

3. Get help. Have you consolidated student loans? Transferred credit card balances? Asked for a raise at work? When you're deep in the debt cycle, it's easy to ignore the lifelines that are dangling, waiting for you to grab ahold. Consolidated loans can make a huge difference with your monthly payments, to the point where the money you save might cover some of those monthly credit card minimums. Sometimes it's just one small step that gives you a little breathing room and makes everything feel manageable. You're not beyond help, no matter how long you've felt stuck in this routine.