How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Fast by Cutting Expenses Temporarily
If you've looked at your credit card balance and thought "I'm going to go broke or end up in bankruptcy," I want to show you something first. The...
How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Fast: The Real Math
If you've searched for how to pay off credit card debt fast, you've probably already read the generic advice: "spend less, pay more." True, but useless...
Minimum Payments on Credit Cards: Why Paying Extra Saves You Thousands
If you're only making minimum payments on your credit cards, you're not standing still — you're slowly going backwards. This guide explains exactly...
Debt Snowball vs. Avalanche: Which One Actually Pays Off Debt Faster?
If you've got more than one debt — two credit cards, three credit cards, a card and a car loan — you've run into these two words. Snowball. Avalanche....
How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early Without Wrecking Your Monthly Budget
There are two ways to pay off a house faster. One of them is safe. The other one feels safe right up until the month your income disappears.
Lump Sum Payment on Credit Card Debt: How Much It Really Saves
A tax refund shows up. An aunt hands you $1,000 at Christmas. You clean out the garage and a yard sale nets you a few hundred bucks. The question...
Is a Balance Transfer Worth It? The Real Math on 0% Credit Cards
If you're carrying a credit card balance at 20-something percent, you've probably seen the offers: transfer your balance to this card and pay 0%...
How to Pay Off $10,000 in Credit Card Debt Fast (The Real Math)
If you're carrying about $10,000 on a credit card and making the minimum payment, you're not paying off debt. You're renting money from the bank. I...
How to Make a Debt Payoff Plan That Actually Works
Debt feels impossible right up until the moment you have a plan. Not a vague intention to "do better" — an actual written list with balances, rates,...
Using an Auto Refinance to Pay Off Credit Card Debt: The Real Math
If you have a car that's worth more than you owe on it, and a credit card charging you something in the neighborhood of 25%, you may be sitting on a...
How to Pay Off Debt Faster: Use a Debt Payoff Calculator and See the Real Math
Most debt advice is a debate about method. Snowball or avalanche. Consolidate or don't. Cut cable or don't. Those arguments go in circles because...
Debt Snowball vs Avalanche: Which One Actually Saves More Money?
If you've spent ten minutes looking for debt advice, you've run into the debt snowball and the debt avalanche. One camp swears by smallest balance...
How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Fast Using Rewards and Small Monthly Cuts
Most people looking for how to pay off credit card debt fast are hoping for a trick. There isn't one. But there is something better: math that works...
Credit Card Payoff Date: How to Set One and Actually Hit It
Most people don't have a credit card payoff date. They have a monthly payment and a vague feeling that the balance is going down. Those are two...
Pay Off Debt or Invest First? How to Decide With Real Math
This is one of the most common questions I get: "Brian, should I pay off debt or invest?" People feel torn. They hear that assets grow and cash loses...
Investing While in Debt: What to Pay Off First (With Real Math)
This is one of the most common questions I get, and it usually arrives in a slightly panicked form: "I've got $9,000 on credit cards, but everyone says...
How to Pay Off Student Loans Faster: The Real Math on a $40,000 Balance
If you've been making payments on student loans for years and the balance looks about the same as it did when you started, nothing is wrong with you....
Savings Account vs Paying Off Debt: The Real Math on Where Your Cash Should Go
Here's a question I get constantly: "I've got some money in savings. Should I leave it there for safety, or throw it at my credit cards?"
Upside Down Car Loan: What to Do When You Owe More Than the Car Is Worth
An upside down car loan — also called being underwater — means the balance on your loan is higher than what the car would actually sell for. You feel...
How to Prepare for a Layoff When You Have Debt
Nobody plans a layoff into their budget. But if you're carrying credit card balances, a car loan, or a mortgage, a job loss doesn't just cut your...
Inflation and Your Debt Payoff Plan: Why Holding Cash Alone Loses
Most debt advice treats your dollars as if they hold still. They don't. Inflation quietly shrinks what every dollar buys, which means the money sitting...
Debt Avalanche With a 0% Intro APR Card: How to Run the Math
If you're using the debt avalanche method, the instructions sound simple: attack the highest interest rate first. But what happens when one or two of...
Emergency Fund While Paying Off Debt: How Much Do You Really Need?
If you're attacking credit card debt, every dollar sitting in savings feels like a dollar that could be killing 24% interest instead. I get it. But...
How to Recession-Proof Your Debt Payoff Plan
If you've been reading about a possible downturn — layoffs, a stock market correction, housing cooling off — and you're carrying credit card, car or...