This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet. The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. After years of being in debt, Rachel Kramer Bussel came to a realization: “If I don’t become proactive about it, I will be in debt for the rest of my life.” For Bussel, a freelance writer near Atlantic City, New Jersey, that meant scaling back spending and putting any available money toward the debt principal.
“Starting to see it go in the right direction helped me amp it up,” she says. “I felt like, maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.” Bussel, whose debt came from credit cards, student loans and back taxes, finally paid off all of her debt, which at one point exceeded $100,000, in 2020. Paying off debt is a common goal in the new year. Bills for holiday shopping and other end-of-year spending often come due in January, and this year, rising interest rates make debt increasingly expensive. According to the Federal Reserve, revolving debt, which includes credit card balances, continued to rise throughout 2022, increasing at an annual rate of 10.4% as of October, the most recent numbers available. To attack your debt this month, try these strategies:Look back, then forward Elaine Grogan Luttrull, a financial educator and counselor in Dublin, Ohio, says that before making a plan to pay off the debt, it helps to reflect on how it came to be in the first place. “Was it pressure? Excitement? Habits? Explore what triggers led to this debt, and sit with the emotion for a moment,” she says. “Let’s not berate ourselves but be solution-focused,” she adds. Skipping that introspective s …