Who wouldn’t want to get out of debt fast? Debt can be an enormous burden, one that weighs on you and holds you back from many opportunities. So of course, the faster you can change that, the better.
The only problem with that is, when your main goal is to get out of debt fast, sometimes you can lose objectivity or be tempted into things that aren’t such great ideas.
Common mistakes
A classic mistake is to try to borrow your way out of debt — often by turning to a debt consolidation loan. It sounds like a quick and easy solution, but it rarely turns out that way. For one thing, you still owe the money. For another, because it doesn’t cause you to change your habits, you often end up going right back out and borrowing again — the same way you did before, except that you end up owing even more money.
Another mistake is believing that there are folks out there who can just make your debts go away for you without you having to do the work.
The only way to get out of debt is to pay what you owe, settle for less than you owe, or (depending on what debts you have) file bankruptcy. Of the three, paying what you owe is usually the best way to get out of debt fast — and you won’t have to worry about being taken by unscrupulous characters who may not comply with the debt relief rules.
If you really want to get out of debt fast…
You’ve got to do the work. Using the debt snowball method can work wonders, because it keeps you motivated and you usually see progress quickly.
You’ve also got to change your habits, and begin building up an emergency fund.
Maybe even more importantly, you’ve got to change the way you think about borrowing money. Break free of the debt myth, and not only will you get out of debt as fast as possible, but you’ll be free of it for good.
I'm Jackie Beck, personal finance writer and creator of 
You are right. Failing to change the things that led to debt in the first place will only lead to more and more problems, much like constantly raising the debt ceiling.
Yeah, you have to change what you’re *doing* before you’ll see a lasting difference.
I agree that the best way out of debt is to attack it instead of borrowing. I like the snowball method that attacks the highest interest rate debt first…
The simplest way is to just plain quit borrowing. As long as you’ve stopped that, you’ll get out of debt eventually. I prefer highest interest rate myself too for the debt snowball method, but it’s not motivating enough for most people.
I unfortunately made the consolidation loan mistake earlier in my life. It hurt my credit rating badly and it has taken a long time to recover. I would avoid this option.
Yeah, a lot of people make that mistake. It makes sense on the surface, but is often painful. I wouldn’t recommend it either!
That’s mean pay of the lowest balance first (means that 100% focusing on the lowest balance? or pay more to the lowest balance and others just pay the minimum amount?) please advice… i’m having a serious debts on me and i need to change to a better habit instead of keep borrowing. please advice, thanks.
That means pay as much as possible to the first debt. At the same time, make minimum payments to all of the other debts in your list.