You’ve finally reached the point where you've decided you do not want money to be at the center of every one of your life decisions. I feel you. For years I had this accumulating debt that controlled the type of jobs I took, my living situation, where and who I went out with - money controlled my life.

One of the most difficult parts of starting your debt free journey is figuring out the best approach to tackling your debt.

Fortunately, I was able to come up with an effective method & plan that helped me finally get rid of my debt and quick! I paid off over $22,000 in just 7 months while on a low income.

Here’s some strategies on finding a method and plan to payoff your student loans faster.

LIST OUT THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS

Choosing your debt-free payment method is not an easy task but luckily there are a lot of free resources to help.

There are a lot of factors that go into picking the best one. Weigh the pros and cons of each method you’ve listed out against your financial goals. Google debt-free payment methods and a list of methods will come up.

Two of the most popular methods are:

The Snowball Method

With the snowball method, you focus on debts with the lowest balances first. This approach makes you makes you feel like King Kong. Its extremely motivating and empowering to see how quickly you pay off smaller debts but its very possible you end up shelling out more money in long run to pay for interest.

The Avalanche Method

With the avalanche method, you focus on debts with the highest interest rates first. This approach allows you to save more money in the long run. Interest adds up quick! With several high interest debts, we're talking additional hundreds or even thousands of dollars but this approach is less motivating. It may take a long while to pay off one loan with the highest interest rate. Its difficult to stay motivated on your debt-free journey if you don't feel like you're making progress.

and then there is my finessed method of the two:

Brithney Joseph’s Laser Eye Method

With my aggressive payoff method, you focus on loan with lowest balance first then the ones with the highest interest rate. With my approach, you see results quick and you feel motivated and empowered while paying off your debt but depending on how many debts you have, you could end up spending more money on interest.

Weigh the pros and cons of each method you’ve listed out against your financial goals. You can use a free online tool like - Debt Payoff Calculator to learn how much money you would save on interest with either debt payoff method.

ASK YOURSELF HARD QUESTIONS

Each debt payoff method has their pros and cons you have to weigh them against your financial goals.

1. Do I care more about paying my debt off as fast as possible or not being ripped off by these lenders and paying off more money than I have to?

2. How many debts do I have? do I have multiple small loans, big loans with high interest, or a mix of both?

3. What type of loans do I have - federal or private?

4. What type of interest rates do I have – variable or fixed?

5. Which method will best help me reach my financial goals?

LIST OUT YOUR DEBTS & TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

Tracking your debt progress is imperative to meeting your financial goals. Luckily, there is a digital tool that can make tracking your debt payoff progress, along with setting up your debt payoff strategy and budget super easy - the Get Your Money Right Workbook.

The Get Your Money Right Workbook is a digital workbook of digital spreadsheets available in Google Sheets (.xslx format). The workbook guides you step by step through the debt-free budget creation process with the debt payoff method of your choice.

YOU CAN’T MAKE THE WRONG CHOICE

The best choice will always be the one that you connect with most, the one that will yield you the best results you want despite its elemental weaknesses. The most effective debt-free payment method is the one that is most sustainable; it best supports your financial goals and allows you to upkeep a balanced lifestyle.

Understand that just because you choose a strategy does not mean you have to stick to it. My fast debt pay off plan is proof of that. Always keep your financial goals at front of mind. The scariest part of paying off your debt will be doing nothing and staying stuck and mad. You are already steps ahead by doing your research and taking active steps to eliminate debt from your life. Keep going.