Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder.
Your reasons for being in debt are as unique as you are. Whether it’s because of a student loan, mortgage, credit card or combination thereof, debt can happen to all of us.
The good news: The way you pull yourself out of debt can be just as unique (and a lot more rewarding). There are well-known debt payoff strategies out there like the snowball and avalanche methods.
We also rounded up some of our favorite ways that Penny Hoarders have used themselves over the years to help get out of debt.
Debt Payoff Strategies
Debt payoff strategies come in all sizes — from ultra-focused intensive to “every little bit helps” methods. Fortunately for us, Penny Hoarders are generous about sharing their ideas. Here are five innovative debt payoff strategies to inspire you.
1. Find a Money Buddy
Just because you’re getting out of debt, doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.
Friends Sau-Sha Hill and Sha’Kreshia Terrell decided to work together to pay off their combined $70,000 in credit card debt.
They started by writing down goals they wanted to achieve each month, then keeping the other’s credit cards to prevent the temptation of impulse purchases.
Holding each other accountable paid off for them: In just one year they paid off $27,000 of their combined debt and encouraged each other’s new, healthier spending habits.
Check out how an accountability partner can help you pay down debt.
2. Get Multiple Side Hustles
Eventually, you run out of ways to cut costs. You can either resign yourself to a life stuck in debt or find more money.
When former Penny Hoarder staff writer Lisa Rowan added up her total debt, she faced a daunting total of $51,679. But instead of burying her head, she looked for ways to make extra money to pay off her debt.
At her busiest point, Rowan juggled two 20-hour per week positions, her own shop, a gig packaging stationery and multiple freelance assignments.
Combining the extra money with strategies like using a balance transfer card and cutting expenses, she side-hustled her way to paying off $30,435 in 18 months.
It’s easier than ever to find a side hustle that works for you. In fact, here’s a list of some of our favorites that you can do from your phone.
3. Round Off Numbers
All those Type A tendencies could pay off when you tidy up your account balances to nice, round figures.
The Penny Hoarder Community member Marlena Montalvo posted that she was halfway to her goal of paying off her mortgage in eight years. Her secret? A combination of rounding up payments, making double monthly payments when possible and using the 00.00 concept.
So if she checked her balance and it was $1,581.64, she’d make a payment of $81.64 to get the balance to an even $1,500.00.
“Little things like that make a huge difference,” Montalvo wrote.
4. Track Everything You Spend
Post-It Notes have stuck around for a reason: It’s easier to remind yourself when you see it right there in front of you. The same goes for financial goals.
Tyler and Ashley Philbrook paid off $6,000 of the $25,000-plus they had in credit card and student loan debt and put away over $10,000 in savings.
Although they thought they were sticking to their budget every month, it wasn’t until Tyler created an Excel spreadsheet to track every expense that they realized they were overspending every month. They started a budgeting journal to track daily expenses, which helped them see they saved a lot more money by cooking at home.
If you’re new to this kind of thing, an app like Rocket Money is an excellent all-in-one way to get your finances in order. It helps you track your spending, set budgeting goals and ultimately save money. Rocket Money can even help negotiate lower bills and help you cancel unused subscriptions.
5. Get Organized With Apps
Paying off debt doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking — sometimes all it takes to help is some common cents. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)
If you want to pay down debt in an organized way that doesn’t feel like a lot of work, let an app do the work for you. Another one of our favorite finance apps is Monarch. It lets you track your account balances, transactions and investments in one place, giving you a more complete view of your finances.
Having trouble monitoring your spending? With Monarch, you can track it by merchant or by category. The app also features bill sync, which allows you to see credit card balances, minimum payment due and other recurring expenses within Monarch.
And with swipe to review, you can look over transactions with a quick swipe left or right. That way, you always know where your money is and where it’s going. It doesn’t get much more organized than that.
