Like many, one of my biggest goals is to be debt free, but with student loan payments, a credit card I used irresponsibly, and a car that needs to be paid off, that finish line seems very far away. I am a very goal oriented person, and checking items off on my list is what keeps me motivated, so I decided that for me, starting with my smallest debt balance and working my way up would be best the plan. Yesterday, I marched myself down to Chase and made a huge dent in paying off my credit card, but it felt even better this morning when I checked the account and saw how drastically that number went down, and I was instantly motivated to keep going on bringing that balance to $0.

Quite the coincidence, I found an article published on Business Insider that spoke to my exact plan and emotions that come with paying off large debts. The authors suggestion is to write a list from top to bottom of your debts, starting with the smallest balance and work on paying that one off, while making the minimum payments on your others. Once you are done paying off that debt, you can you use that extra money on the next debt, and continue this process until your debts are paid off.

If the feelings of excitement and accomplishment continue to happen, this is definitely a strategy I will definitely stick to.

Curious to read this article? Click here.

-Basha Gitnes