If you think you can’t even afford your minimum payments, you are probably wondering how you can pay off all your debt in any amount of time.  The truth is, you probably can afford those payments and much more.  If you take extreme action, you can get it paid off fast, improve your credit, and begin working towards important financial goals.

This is an extreme situation that requires extreme measures.  You are going to have to take action for as long as it takes and then you can go back to a less stressful lifestyle.  Follow this plan for as long as you need to.  It might seem like you are giving up the joys in life, but you are only doing it for a short period of time and it is absolutely necessary in order to get the life you want, stress free, later on.

Cut out EVERYTHING that is not an Absolute Need

You don’t NEED a credit card (except for some situations such as for work).  You don’t NEED cable.  You don’t NEED to buy clothes.  You don’t NEED to go out to eat.  You don’t NEED to buy brand name food.  You don’t NEED to go on vacation.  You don’t NEED to take a 20 minute water-wasting shower instead of a quick 5 minute one.  You don’t NEED to go to the movies or throw parties.  You don’t NEED to buy snacks.  You don’t NEED to buy a cup of coffee everyday.

This list can go on and on.  You don’t NEED anything of these things.  What you NEED to do is cut them all out entirely.  I don’t mean cut back your cable bill to the basic plan or buy a few less pieces of clothing each month.  I mean completely cut out these things until you have your debt paid off.

If you want to be entertained, start reading.  You can get books from the library absolutely free.  Instead of eating out, you can buy low-cost healthy food and prepare your own meals.  You have to take action here and you can save a lot of money doing it.  If you don’t absolutely need it to survive, cut it out!

Cut back everything Else

Do you own a home?  Are you renting?  Whatever your situation is, you are probably spending a lot of money on it.  Sell your house and move in with family if possible.  You can pay them a small fee for room and board and possibly save thousands of dollars a month.

If that’s not possible, get a really cheap apartment until you are able to pay off your debt.  This is the most important thing you can do right now.  You can also cut back on driving.  That is a huge waste of gas whenever you go out unnecessarily.  Carpool with whoever you can to work and make your kids take the bus.

Do you understand the trend here?  For as long as it takes, you have to cut out what you can.  The more you cut out, the more you can put towards paying off debt.  This will mean it gets paid faster also because you spend less in interest.

If you are bored because of the lack of entertainment, get a second job.  This can help you pay off debt even faster.  The faster the better!

You don’t need to be investing and using stock software just yet until you get it all paid off.  Then you can start investing.

Taking these measure may seem extreme, but it could be the difference between paying off debt in 6 months or in 3 years.  Get that stress out of your life as soon as possible!