While this payment strategy will help you get out of debt, you can potentially make things go even faster with a few other tips. First, call your credit card company and ask about getting your rate lowered. This won’t always work, but if you have been on time with your payments and a decent credit score, they may be willing to work with you. It doesn’t hurt to try and it doesn’t cost anything. The worst they can do is say no.
Don’t forget about balance transfers. Again, it isn’t always easy to get credit and the balance transfer deal may not be the best, but if you can find a way to transfer the balance from a card with a 25% APR to a card with an 18% APR, that’s still something. There may be some special 0% offers as well, but they are harder to come by these days and the hidden fees may outweigh the benefit.
Finally, keep in mind that this process still takes time. There is no magic method of paying off debt, so realize that it will still take months or even a few years to become completely debt-free. But what we're doing is putting a process in place to make sure that you can get out of debt as soon as possible. You can speed up the process if you continue to pay even more money towards your debt as your budget allows.