How to Become Debt-Free

A debt elimination calendar can help you reduce or eliminate unnecessary debt. If you set up a monthly payment schedule and stick to it, you will become debt-free quicker than you probably think.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Pen and paper

1. Gather all your bills for your extra debt such as credit cards, medical bills, education loans, auto loans or any other type of outstanding debt. Make a monthly budget of how much you make and spend. After you have taken out the money needed for the regular monthly bills, use the remaining amount alloted to set up your budget for paying off your unsecured debt.
2. A debt elimination calendar can help you reduce or eliminate unnecessary debt. Mark off several columns on a piece of paper.
3. In the first column on the left, write the names of the months, beginning with the upcoming month.
4. At the top of the next column, write the name of the creditor you want to pay off first. It may be the debt with the highest interest rate or the earliest pay-off date.
5. List the monthly payment for that creditor until the loan is repaid as shown above.
6. At the top of the next column, record the name of the second creditor you want to repay and list the minimum payment due each month.
7. After you have repaid the first creditor, add the amount of that monthly payment to your next payment to the second creditor.
8. Continue the process until all loans are repaid.