分类： Financial Planning

Many gamblers ask how to stop gambling and save money

Gambling is harmless fun but it can be addictive to some gamblers

Those gamblers seek support when it is too late

Unfortunately they lose their families as it is very hard to live with someone who dumps money like lunatic

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That’s exactly how non gamblers perceive wasting money in Casinos

In this post, I’ll focus on how to stop gambling and save money so let’s begin with

Contents  show 

What are the common myths of gambling?

There are few common fallacies or myths whatever you like to call it

These fallacies about gambling are still alive and never fades like

I have my smart technique of winning

I’ve met many gamblers admitting they got smart techniques to make them win

How? that’s impossible

If someone has got smart technique he’ll be a money machine

By the way, if you win for multiple times a big cash, the casino will expel you out

Do you remember Rain Man by Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise?

Tom Cruise increased his chance of winning and he was banned from entering Casinos

This is a movie, don’t live this dream

It is due to pay soon

If you are a slot machine addict, don’t think because someone before you were playing for substantial time without winning that you can take over and it is due to pay soon

Slot machines are not configured to let you win every n^th time

I remember with my friends we tested one slot machine after big win and it is totally not consistent

Even if you win, you can’t tell if this slot machine is going to compensate you to cover your losses

Stop gambling and save money as slot machine is not an investment machine

I can double my money every time

I heard this from at least more than 5 different gamblers

Just double your money on Roulette or Poker tables and once you win you will compensate your loss

Let’s make the calculation together

$100 and if doubled, it is $200 then $400, $800, $1,600, $3,200, $6,400, $12,800, $25,600 and so on

Roulette as a game can take you 50 trials to win the bet on one specific number

But if you’re playing odd/even or green/red then your chance is of winning is 50/50

Let’s say you lose 4 times then you will bet with $1,600 as per the above

Who told you that at $1,600 you will collect enough money to cover your losses

What if I tell you that you put $1,600 and all gamblers put $400, what do you think?

Let’s say you are playing on one specific number to double the number to 20^th times

That’s impossible because you would not afford to get this amount of money

Think about it and stop gambling to save your money

It is my lucky day today

I am sorry to tell you that you as a gambler mentally decide to make any day your lucky day

It happens that you receive a call from someone you like or hear a good news

You decide to think that it is your lucky day

Why is gambling bad for you?

To stop gambling and save money you have to realize why gambling is bad for you

Gambling has a harmful effect both to psychological and physical health

Gamblers may experience depression, anxiety and stress

Gambling is bad because in most case it turns to addiction

It is similar to the addiction of taking a drug or having a drink

What is worse than that, gambling has the power to alter you mood and state of mind

Anybody addicted to drug and alcohol needs to increase the dose to experience the same effect like before

Gambling is equivalent to drug and alcohol where gamblers need to gamble more to experience the same high moment or thrill

They think by continuing to increase their gambling they can win back their losses

Why should you stop gambling?

Still not yet convinced to stop gambling and save your money

Well, read the below 6 reasons on why to stop gambling right now

Casinos have what is called house edge

House edge is the percentage of profit for each game played inside casinos

This is a predefined numbers calculated before

Slot machines for example, you can play up to 600 spins in an hour

This is the highest number of games with house edge up to 10%

This means player’s loss is 10%

A game like Texas hold’em has house edge as low as 2.2%

This means it is less losses than slot machines

Overall Casinos have team of mathematicians you can never beat their logic

Gambling affects your mood

One day you can lose a lot of money while another day you don’t lose much

How can you guarantee yourself to keep your positive and go back to your normal life without really losing your mood

Let me tell you, it’s impossible, never heard of anyone being able to do that

Gambling is addictive

Yes it’s true, gambling is addictive

How you know you are not already addicted to gambling

You can convince yourself that you are playing for fun but you are not

Prove it by stopping gambling and save your money now

You would lose your friends and family

Who would keep a good relationship with someone who is prone to be broke and lose money

People are creatures who like to maintain a healthy relationship

You don’t want anyone coming to you asking to borrow money

If this happens how can you make sure he won’t take that money to gamble again

Gambling waste a lot of time

Many gamblers told me before

They report an average of 4 to 5 hours in every session they spend gambling

Gamblers are an easy target to robberies

Everyone going in or out of casino is a target to robbery

Robbers stalk casinos looking for winners before they ask for escort

What is a gambling addict?

Gambling addiction is the uncontrollable urge to keep on gambling despite the fact you’re losing money

It is so dangerous that it may happen that some gamblers pledge their jewelries, watches or even their cars to get quick cash to gamble with

Always there are opportunists who hang in casinos to prey on those addictive victims

They know they won’t be able to pay back their loans

What causes gambling addiction?

Just to let you know compulsive gambling is a kind of addiction

There are many reasons for what can cause your addiction to gambling

But don’t be afraid, you will not get abdicated from visiting the casino three or four times a year

Gambling addiction occur from something you build deep inside your mind

Like being desperate for money and you think you can get quick cash from gambling

Or your desire to experience the thrill and highs of those you imaged coming out of casinos with thousands of dollars

I’ll be fair with you, who doesn’t like this fake image

It can be the entertaining atmosphere you maintain inside casinos

You find yourself there as you enjoy every moment

Perhaps outside you feel bored and nothing fills your life

How to overcome gambling addiction?

Compulsive gambling addiction affects 2-3% Americans with symptoms like irritable mood, pressured speech, decreased need for sleep and few other symptoms

To stop gambling and save money you have to overcome your gambling addiction

These are few considerations to stop gambling addiction

Put limit to yourself

I cannot call myself a gambler at all

But I live in a place 2 hours away from Niagara falls

Anytime I go to the casino, I set a limit like $10 or $20 to spare and that’s it

You have to set a limit to yourself

This works best if you are not addicted yet to gambling

Admit you have a problem

Number one solution to recovering from any addiction including gambling is admitting that you have a problem

If your family or friends force you to do that then you will not be cured

It has to come from inside you that you hate what you’ve become and you want to stop gambling and save money

Seek professional help

There is something called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Where the therapist and the addictive gambler works one on one to help the gambler sees the destructive behavior of gambling

And to overcome the gambling thoughts that possess your mind

Join a support group

There are self help groups like Gambler’s Anonymous (GA) that uses different techniques to help compulsive addictive gamblers

Also there are other groups that help family members deal with their loved one

Consider medication

In some cases psychiatrists often prescribes an antidepressant that can affect the serotonin system

Other drugs such as lithium and opiate antagonists like nalmefene

How to stop gambling and save money?

When I mention stop gambling and save money

I assume you are in a stage you can quit gambling using your own will

You’re not addicted yet

Decide if gambling is really worth it

Think about what gambling brings to you

Does it bring happiness?

Do you believe you are making money gambling?

My life will be boring without gambling

While all the assumptions are not true

But that’s your mind makes you think of

Compare it to what you will lose as money and social life being alone

Trust me on that, stop gambling and save money as it is not worth it

Avoid temptation

Stay away from places where you can find casinos

What made this gambling addiction worse is that you can now gamble online

There are many online casinos that puts you in the gambling atmosphere

In that case, there are many software and apps that block gambling sites

At the end of this post, you will find a list of software that can help you avoid gambling

Replace gambling with other activities

Since you decided to stop gambling you will experience boredom

You have to decide what other activities can make you feel fully engaged

Each Gambling session takes a lot of time so you want to fill that time with something that gives you the same thrill

It can be a sport or hobby you are really passionate about

Convince yourself that your losses are not recoverable

I’ve never seen anyone who was able to recover his losses by gambling again

Whatever you have lost just leave it behind your back

Stop gambling and save your money

Don’t take gambling as an excuse to recover previous losses

Tell your friends to self exclude you from casinos

This is a kind of challenge test you abide to it

Like telling your friends and family to slap you or spit on your face whenever they see you gambling

Some gamblers exaggerate with the punishment they tell their surroundings about

This trick has proven to be really worth it to stop you from gambling

Identify your gambling triggers

Monitor all activities around you that trigger you to go for gambling

There are certain places or circumstances that put you in the mood of gambling

Like I mentioned earlier being bored can trigger you to go for gambling

Remember gambling now can be online so you don’t have to go to casinos

Seek professional help

Again I said earlier if you are about to be addicted to gambling

But who knows, seek professional help to identify if you started to fall in compulsive gambling

You can start earlier before it is too late

What does gambling do to your brain?

There is a hormone called dopamine which is responsible for your happiness

Compulsive gambling stimulates your brain with this hormone

Every time you gamble your brain’s level of pleasure gets weakened

So your brain puts more pressure to push for more dopamine to trigger its reward system

Can you get rich gambling?

In the long term No

Gambling can make very few people rich under this circumstances like

You go to a casino and play let’s say Roulette on number zero

Let’s say you win and quit

Which is a very rare situation but in reality gamblers never get rich

Any money they game they will lose it by future gambling sessions

Can a gambler be cured?

Unfortunately there is no specific cure from gambling addiction

Because this type of addiction starts from your brain which needs your own strong will and the help of a professional therapist

Admit that you have a problem then start as early as possible

Follow the steps outlined by your therapist and one day you can break free of this compulsive gambling

Are there apps to let you gamble for free?

I am not sure if gamble for free or with play money will help those weak spirit who are still recovering from compulsive gambling to entertain themselves

Or I am wrong and this will make things worse

Anyway there are so many apps that let you gamble for free like

1- Most of the online casinos have something called play money where you can play and never pay a dime

I cannot put myself in gambler’s shoe but I assume any gambler can have fun and not lose money – what do you think?

2- Play Lucktastic free app on your mobile

This app will let you scratch cards online if you win you get free PayPal money instantly

3- Willy Wonka slots free casino available on Android and iPhone

4- Lucky Day app is free to download with scratch cards, daily and monthly raffles, and jackpot lottery

5- Feel free to search your Android or iPhone store for free slot machines and make sure to read the terms well

Is there an app to stop gambling?

Below are the list of all apps that help block your gambling sites

Bet Blocker is a free to download app or on your laptop

It blocks more than 6000 gambling sites to help you overcome gambling addiction

Gamban similar to Bet Blocker as it is available for all devices

BetFilter is available on all devices but with a fee starting with $5.83 per month

GamBlock is available with 3 licenses gold, platinum and titanium where gold membership is $84.95 a Year

Freedom is available for monthly fee of $6.99, annually for $2.42 a month or forever as one time fee of $129

Drowning in debt is really harsh situation that can lead to anxiety and insomnia

I know how it feels when you are falling deep in debt

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Because I passed through this feeling and I had to pony up my debt

Believe it or not, paying your debt requires a determination, plan and a will to start a new commitment

If I visualize it, I will draw a man climbing a steep mountain but once you start you would definitely reach the top

In this post, I want to share my experience on how to pay your debt fast

Contents  show 

What does drowning in debt mean?

Drowning in debt simply means you owe a lot of money to creditors

In today’s economy, usually people owe debts to financial organizations like banks

It is very hard to reschedule its terms or reduce the interest rates

Sometimes it can lead to foreclosure and freezing your assets if you are not able to pay your debt in time

If this happens, you declare bankruptcy and spend around 7 years living with no credit until you are allowed to start building a new credit again

Does unpaid debt ever go away?

First, there is something called statute of limitations it is simply a time limit

For example, in Ontario, Canada it is 2 years

In other states, it can be up to 7 years

If this time period passes, debt collector will not sue you in court

But that doesn’t mean that your debt will go away, debt collectors will trouble you frequently to pay it

Beside it will negatively affect your credit score and rating

To summarize it, statute of limitations can help you not be sued

But your debt will not disappear

You will still have to pay it or it will leave a black mark on your credit score

How much debt is too much debt?

There is something called Debt to Income ratio and abbreviated as DTI

DTI is a percentage of how much you owe compared to how much you earn

If your DTI is 43% it will be hard for you to get Mortgage approval

Usually DTI of 36% is acceptable but it should be lower than that

What to do if you are drowning in debt?

I remember when I got married in 2010, I was working at Walmart with a minimum wage

At the same time I had to buy furniture and few appliances

My point is falling in debt was inevitable

I had no other choice

I am not sure if I can say I was drowning in debt

But I know that I followed most of the steps below

1) Make a list of all your debts

This step is crucial, it will keep you motivated and provide you with a payment plan

Create an excel or google sheet as shown below

List all of your debts under column A and their equivalent minimum payment under column B

Add interest rate under column C and amount owed under column D

The plan is to pay more on the highest interest rate so you minimize your accumulated interest

Dave Ramsey has an idea to pay more on the lowest debts to finish them while paying the minimum to all debts

After you finish your smallest debts you will get motivated

Use your momentum and direct your payment which was used to finish your smallest debt to pay the next one

2) Create a budget

To build a realistic budget based on your income you have to collect all your expenses made on your debit and credit cards for the last 3-6 months

Sort all your expenses into fixed like mortgage or rent

While other expenses are variables like utilities, gas and groceries

After you come up with your real amounts for each expense

You can either keep using your credit cards and keep track of what you spend on each expense category – this is one option

Or you can leave your credit cards at home and start using the cash envelope system

3) Set new goals and plans

I will tell you a secret about those who were able to pay their debts

When they were asked about how they manage to fight their debts

Most of them used to have a solid plan written on paper and visible to them

The above is my financial goals roadmap, I have it in my download page

4) Stop using credit cards

It is really hard to track your expenses when using your credit cards

Think about it, you use a plastic card which can pay for any amount

But if you use the cash envelope system you will be cautious with your spending

5) Cut your expenses

After completing your budget, it will open your eyes where you spend your money

The first round of cutting your expenses is supposed to be easy

You can cut your fast food and dinning out

Also your drive thru coffee and many more

Your second round is to cut your luxury items if you have the will like your GYM membership

6) Prioritize paying debt with high interests first

There are 2 methods to tackle your debt

Either to put more money into high interests or smallest debts

Actually Dave Ramsey is the one who suggests to pay the small debt first

He calls it the snow ball effect

7) Finish paying lowest balance first

As I said earlier, if I have 2 debts let’s say $7,000 and $6,400

I wouldn’t consider $6,400 to be small debt

If I have $7,000 and $500 then I would tackle the $500 to finish it

This will boost your energy

8) Double up on payments

If you are paying a debt and it happens that you finish it

You use its money to pay the next targeted debt

Dave Ramsey describes it like the snow ball rolling to crush your debt

9) Use bonus and tax refund to pay down debts

If you are expecting a bonus or tax refund, this is a good opportunity to pay it towards your debt

Also if you are not aware during the year you will get 2 extra payments

What I wanted to say is to use any extra money towards your debt

10) Pay more than just the interest to overcome being overwhelmed with debt

Paying just the interest will not finish your debt

You will keep paying your debt forever

The only way is to pay the interest and a big portion of the principal

11) Sell unused belongings

This practice should not take long

Go into every room and check what you can get rid of

Starting from electronics to personal items like sun glasses or watches

You can sell these belongings on Facebook Marketplace for cash

You will get load of people in your area looking to buy what you have

Your other option is to use eBay

12) Cancel unnecessary subscriptions

Go and take a look at your recurring subscriptions on your credit card

I did this practice before on PayPal and I found 2 subscriptions I don’t need

13) Negotiate or lower your bills

Look for all subscriptions where it is hard to cancel like your cell phone plan

Do your shop around to see if you can find a competitive rate from another provider

Take this rate to your current provider and see if they can beat it

Most of the time, they will do much better to keep you as a loyal customer

What is even better, try to look if you really need this plan or you can lower it down

For example, your plan can have 10 GB of data while you usually consume 5 GB

You can downgrade your plan and pay less

14) Be satisfied with what you currently have

Don’t ever compare yourself to your friends and family

You don’t know their circumstances and what they bear in their lives

Be content with what you have and focus on your debt payment

Always be positive and look for good reason in bad situations

May be being in debt is to teach you a lesson to live a frugal life

15) Avoid committing to new debt

While you are paying your debt, try not to commit to any new debt

Even if it is of small amount like buying recliner chairs on credit or installments

You should put on hold anything and focus on your needs like shelter, food and transportation

16) Analyze your shopping habits

Analyze what makes you spend money on your wants

Do you hang out with your friends and so you spend lot of money on dinning out or drinks outside

May be you have spare time and so you spend your time at shopping malls

Usually when you buy anything which is on great sale, you always don’t need it on the first place

17) Find a side hustle to increase your income

Remember expenses can be lowered to a reasonable amount

On the other side, increasing your income has not cap

Try to find a side hustle that can make you money to beat your debt

I recommend to read the below

How to Make an Extra 1000 a Month From Home Doing Easy Side Hustles

18) Volunteer for a good cause

This will not pay your debt but it will make you feel lucky with what you have

Although you are drowning in debt but there are others who don’t have shelter

19) Overcome your addiction

It is time to overcome your addiction

If you smoke or drink alcohol a lot, it is time to give up

I know it is hard to give up, this will not only improve your health

But it will give you a great confidence that will stay with you a lifetime

20) Buy only your needs not your wants

Do you know the difference between your needs and wants

If not, it is time to know now, your needs is the essential things that keep you alive

Like your shelter, food (not all kinds of food) and transportation

Your wants are all the things you can put on hold like clothes (only essential ones) and you still can survive

21) Learn basic financial knowledge

You need to learn the basics that’s what you need to know

I want you to know the difference between assets and liabilities

Go ahead and read my post I wrote about personal financial literacy

Also I recommend reading these books called the budgeting habit or Financial peace planner by Dave Ramsey

22) Be positive and stay motivated

Don’t let drowning in debt put you down

Believe in yourself and your abilities

Say loudly I can overcome my debt and one day I will be debt free

Don’t get despaired or you will lose hope

You need to keep your motivation high to overcome your debt

23) Speak to your bank or credit counselor for free

Taking decision to fight your debt is really a good step towards being debt free

But first, think about going to your bank and ask about your options

May be you can get a home equity line of credit to use its money to pay all of your debt

Usually it is a credit of very low interest

Other option is to speak to credit counselor for free to see your options

24) Get a consolidated loan

Did you receive one day your credit cards offer to transfer any balance to them for some days usually one year term with no interest

Actually these type of offers are really good if you plan to move a specific amount you plan to pay within a year

Also you can get a consolidated loan to pay all or some of your debt where you get lower interest rate than what you currently pay

25) Refinance your mortgage

You own your home – great you have a great chance to apply for home equity line of credit

This is one of the lowest interest loans – you can use it to pay your debt

26) Save on groceries

Grocery is one of the flexible expenses that you have full control on

You just have to know how and that’s why I recommend you to read my previous post on how to save money on grocery

How do I get out of debt with no money?

Actually this is a very tricky question

I assume you are drowning in debt but you are living paycheck to paycheck

It is similar to asking how can you untie the robe around your body from the chair you are sitting on without using your hand

First, I want you to be honest with yourself

Make sure to live according to what your income is

And learn from your lesson and avoid future debt at all costs

Find a second job or side hustle

You know I told you before to find a side hustle

But this time you have no option

Go and look for a way to make more money

I heard a story of someone who used to work for 12 hours during the weekend at a gas station and use that money to pay his debt

It took him 30 months to kill his debt living frugally and on the very minimum

At the end, he is debt free and looking forward to build his future

Start with selling your luxurious items

This is one of the way to pursue if you are overwhelmed with debt

You and your partner should be aware of how you are drowning in debt

Both of you are in the same boat

There is nothing wrong if you can sell your household jewelries

Actually you won’t pawn it using pawn shops as you won’t be able to return it back

You go and sell it and pay partial amount of your debt

Ask for money from your first degree relatives

I know it will be kind of insulting if you ask your son

But if you go and ask your parent

Just go and admit that you are drowning in debt

Parents know all of their properties will be passed to their heirs

Or the government will seize it which nobody wants that to happen

Think about using one car only

I remember before having our 2 kids

We were living with one car for a long time

If your kids are grown up – definitely you won’t need 2 cars

Sell the most expensive car and contribute the money to pay your debt

Talk to your bank

Perhaps your bank can help with any low interest loan

Sometimes, they can extend your home equity line of credit if you have one to be able to pay your debt

Or they can offer you a balance transfer 0% interest for certain period, seize the opportunity and transfer a small amount you can sure to cover during that period

Get rid of stocks or mutual fund under your Roth IRS or TFSA

I recommend you use this step only if your debt interest is greater than 10%

What is the point of earning 9% to 13% on mutual funds while you are paying accumulated interest of more than 10%

Yes you would lose your hard earned tax free money

But it is better than letting interest making your debt grow substantially

Are you sick of your debts?
Thinking how to pay off debt fast
I am showing you below how to do that
But I want you to think for a moment

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What made you fall in debts in first place
Are you over spending on luxury items?
Because you want people surrounding you
To see you in a good way

You cannot handle criticism so
You try to show off to avoid people making fun of you
Perhaps you spend money on your friends
Buying them a lot of gifts just to plead them
You want them to stay around you

I don’t want you to pay off your debt
Then fall again in another one
You have to find the cause first and work on
Fixing this issue then pay off your debt

Contents show

Actions to take on how to pay off debt fast

When I got married in 2010
I had to buy a whole new things for my condo
I knew I will be in debt but I had control over it
What made things worse I got laid off and
Me and my wife were living on a single income
We managed to get rid of our debts quickly

I am willing to show you how to pay off debt fast
Let me list below what you can do to pay off debt
Get back on track as a debt free person

1) Make a list of all your debts

You start by creating an excel sheet
List all of your debts on the left as rows
Create columns for your debts to include for each debt
Minimum payment, interest rate and total amount you owed

Now you can rank your debts based on highest rate
Target to pay these debts first
Also if you can manage to pay small debts to cross them out of your list
This will motivate you and keep you focused on big ones

2) Set your budget

To setup a good balanced budget
You have to review all your credit cards history
You got to analyze your spending

Some expenses are fixed like rent or mortgage you cannot control them
While other expenses are fluctuating like utilities, groceries and gas
Track all the fluctuating expenses
Try to come up with reasonable and moderate budget for all these expenses
Do that based on average of ups and downs

I tell you that so you don’t track your expenses during holiday
Which are considered high and apply them all year round
Once you set a realistic budget
Bring envelopes and label them with the expense name

If you are paying some expenses using
Authorized credit cards payments
Then don’t label envelopes for them

There is a free app which is called
Goodbudget for Android and iPhone

3) Set your goals and plans

Do you have a plan on how to pay off debt fast
Have this plan written somewhere in your home
Check it daily and track your progress on the same sheet
Without goals it will be hard to stay on track

Set a due date on how you will finish one debt
If you manage to pay one debt successfully on time
You will be very excited with your small progress
It will boost your enthusiasm to keep you paying more into your debts

4) Pay with cash

Stop using credit cards
Although some cash back credit cards rewards you on your purchases
Problem is with you using your credit cards

If you cannot control spending on your credit cards
Leave them at home
Only bring your debit card with you for emergencies

5) Lower your spending

Cut fast food and dinning out
You have to endure some sacrifices

Stop buying what you want
Get only what you need

There are so many things to cross from your buying list and
Still put its money to pay your debt
Like buying new clothes, accessories and shoes

If you stop your daily drive thru coffee
You will save around $15$ to $20 weekly

Just a thought that came to me
Open a new saving account if you don’t have one
Imagine paying for your coffee and
Pay its amount to your saving account
Pay the accumulated amount at the end of each month to one of your debt

6) Pay more for debts with high interest rate

Pay high interest rate first as
You don’t want accrued interest to get accumulated
Your plan is to pay less in term of interest charges

At the same time some people debate to pay
The smallest balance to keep you motivated
I would say pay the small balance for one debt
That can be paid in one or two months
While still paying most of your payment into the highest interest debt

7) Finish paying lowest balance first

If you have 2 similar debts with equal interest rates
Finish first the lower one to give yourself a relief

Although I mentioned above to pay the debt
With the highest interest and now I tell you to
Pay lowest balance first, you get confused
Actually this is a debate

In my opinion if you have a small balance
That can be completed in one or two months
I would share the monthly payment between
Paying the 2 debts with highest interest rate and lowest balance

I will give an example with numbers here
If you have debt A for $11,000 with 19% interest
While debt B for $600 with 5.5% interest
If you are committed to pay $800 monthly
I would allocate $300 towards debt B
While paying $500 towards debt A
In 2 months I will finish debt B and move to debt A

8) Double up on payments

If you finished paying one debt like paying one credit credit in full
Congratulations and keep up the good momentum
Allocate the same amount towards another credit card
To accelerate finishing it faster

Any extra payment will go towards your principal
Make sure you are not paying just the interest
Your payment has to cover the interest plus part of principal
If you pay only the interest unfortunately
You are not decreasing your loan or credit card

9) Pay down debts using bonuses

Whenever you get year end bonus or
Tax income coming from your tax returns
Take all the money and put it towards your debts

Also most of us get paid biweekly
This means in any fiscal year
You have 2 extra payments
Look at your calendar and check all the paychecks
Usually it is Fridays and see
When you will get the next extra paycheck
You can use it to pay more into your debts

10) Pay more than the minimum payments

It will take you forever if you are paying just the minimum
I have one of my credit cards on its statement
It has a statement under the balance that says
If you pay the minimum only
It will take your 9 years to pay all your balance
This amount is less than a thousand

It is completely insane to pay minimum only
Doing that you will be paying the interest

11) Get rid of extra things by selling them

Check around your belongings from electronics to furniture
There are so many things you can sell and still feel you didn’t lose much

There is nothing wrong about that
Don’t take it personally and get the feeling that you went broke
I managed to sell toys that are in good condition

If you have 2 laptops but only use one
You can sell your items on Facebook Marketplace
In your nearby community or you can sell your items on eBay
But eBay requires extra skills to learn how to create a listing

12) Cancel unnecessary subscriptions

I remember I looked one at PayPal subscriptions
I found 2 unused subscriptions
Which I cancelled right away

Most credit cards statements have beside
All transactions an icons to indicate
If a transaction is a recurring type
Go through all your recurring types and see what you can get rid off

What about your cable
You can switch to free or paid online streaming service
What about your GYM membership and yard maintenance

13) Lower your mandatory subscriptions

For all mandatory subscriptions like cell phone plan
Check if you are paying for extra services and not using them or
Paying for a service but using part of it
Like paying for 10 GB of data
When you are not using more than 3 GB monthly

You can save good money
If you apply this on all mandatory ones

14) Focus to be satisfied with what you got

To be satisfied you have to stop comparing yourself to others
Don’t look on what they got and you don’t
What they got should not concern you
Also practice doing these things in your life

Write down your daily gratitude
You have to recognize all the good things
You got in your life each day

Be flexible and accept change in your life
One in a while always think about people’s point of view
Try to think about it and accept it

Look at things in new perspective
Turn any negative situation into a positive one
Perhaps being in debt will teach you to live frugal life
I mentioned earlier to look for the cause of
What got you into debts in the first place

15) Avoid new debt

It doesn’t make sense to create new debt
While you still paying your current one
If you plan to buy a new car
You don’t need to that
Used car will also do the work for you

16) Analyze your shopping habits

Sometimes you need to think
What makes you spend money
If you find that you hang out with your friends and
This triggers you to spend money
Now you know the cause

Remember I am not trying to make your life hard
At least you should have fun
But find a way to limit the habit that makes you spend money

Also check your credit card statements
See if you can spot any extra thing to stop buying

17) Find a way to increase your income

If you increase your income
You can pay your debt fast
There are so many ways online to make an extra income
Check how to make an extra $200 in one day

18) Volunteer for a good cause

This will help you feel how lucky you are with what you have
It will also help you save money especially
If you hang out with your friends a lot

Also if I cannot ask you to denote or I will be insane
I would ask you to denote from your health
By doing service in charities

19) Overcome your addiction

If you are a smoker or you buy alcohol a lot
It is now your decision to stop your addiction and
Save money towards paying your debts

If not, think about your addiction from different perspective
Some people are addicted to buying clothes especially shoes
I know a friend who is really addicted to buying watches

If you stop your addiction
You will get self satisfaction that
You have done your best to fight your debts

20) Focus on your needs and not your wants

You have to differentiate between
What you need and what you want
Forget about your debts now
Just focusing on chasing your wants
This will drop your level of happiness
As you feel deprived

If you want to be happy
Focus only on what you have

21) Learn basic money management and investments

You have to understand the basics
Like the bad effect of compound interest
How to calculate the matured value of initial money after investment
I see lot of people they don’t understand those basic money management

That’s why I recommend you to read my post about personal financial literacy

I recommend you read used books for the budgeting habit or Financial peace planner by Dave Ramsey

Also I recommend reading about 15 best marketing books of all time

22) Be positive and stay motivated

Number one problem with any people under debts
They don’t believe that they can be debts free one day
Usually because they have low income

Getting despaired will make you lose hope
If you lose hope you will not be able to overcome your debts

23) Speak to a credit counselor for free

in US and Canada
There are free credit counselor offered by the government
You can listen to their advice
Don’t assume you know everything
Always there can be few things
You are not aware of

24) Get a consolidated loan

Sometimes credit cards send regular mail
Offering you to get use of low interest rate for up to 9 months or even a year
This is considered a very good change to transfer all of your credits from other credit cards
You will be able to consolidate into one card
This will motivate you to pay your debt faster as you will be paying more on principal than interest

25) Refinance your mortgage

If you own your home
You still has a good opportunity to apply for home equity loan with low interest rate
You pay all of your credits and then work later to pay this line of credit

The idea is to get all debts under low interest rate
It happens that home equity loans are the lowest rates

26) Save on groceries

You still can save a lot of money on grocery
You never imagine how much you can save
All savings should be applied to your debts

What to do after you pay off debt fast

The feeling of overcoming your debts is completely joyful
You restore your confidence back
First thing you think about is
You don’t want to fall in debt again
Start with the following precautions to avoid falling in debt

• Avoid buying things that stretch your budget
• Keep track by using an excel sheet for all your credit cards balances weekly or biweekly
• Don’t miss credit cards payments
• Pay your credit balances in full
• Limit the number of credit cards you have
• Create an emergency fund and save for US 401K or Canadian RRSP
• Start saving by going through a challenge called 52 weeks money saving challenge

I hope I really helped you to know how to pay off debt fast, share it with those you feel can benefit from reading this by clicking on the social media icons to the left or down below on mobile