A Harvard Business School Graduate recently made headlines for paying off a $90,000 debt load in just 7 months. It’s an amazing accomplishment and shows that it can be done. Maybe you can’t pay off that much debt in that little time, but if you’re willing to make tremendous sacrifices you can also abolish your debt in a fraction of the time as if you’d made regular monthly payments.

1. Have the right attitude. Don’t let negative thoughts kill your motivation.
2. Make a list of everything you owe, including the interest rate and payment amount. Use your credit report to help out.
3. Don’t add any additional debt to the load you’re already carrying.
4. Get a second or third job and use the extra income on your debt.
5. Married couples can try to live off one income and use the other to pay off debt.
6. Temporarily reduce or stop retirement contributions and put the money toward your debt instead. Retirement funds won’t receive as much interest as your loans will incur.
7. Increase your car insurance deductible to save money on your monthly premium.
8. Switch from whole to term life insurance. Your monthly premiums will decrease.
9. Have a yard or garage sale Sale off stuff that you don’t use any more.
10. Cancel your cable or satellite subscription, internet too unless you use it to generate income.
11. Pay off highest interest rate debts first. You’ll save money on interest.
12. Keep an emergency fund so you don’t have to use your credit cards when something comes up.
13. Pay as much as you can toward one debt each month.
14. If you receive a raise, put the extra toward debt.
15. Use windfalls, like a bonus, tax refund, or gifts to reduce your balance.
16. Make money from a hobby. Read this awesome article to get ideas.
17. Develop frugal living habits to cut back on your expenses.
18. Sell valuable electronics, jewelry, and furniture you’re not using. Use Craigslist, eBay, and even your local newspaper.
19. Read books on personal finance and paying off debt – borrow them from the library.
20. Follow blogs of people who are actively paying off debt.
21. Start your own debt blog. You can make money from advertisements and build a support network with readers and other bloggers.
22. Don’t miss any payments, and pay dues on time, the late fees will increase your outstanding balance.
23. Live on a budget. Planning your spending puts you in control of your money. You may want to check out our guide to annual budget.
24. Evaluate your spending habits, reducing where you can. We wrote a post on how to control impulse buying habit, it may help you.
25. Negotiate a settlement on past due accounts and collections. You may be able to pay just 40% to 50% of the balance due. Banks and card issuers offer short-term hardship programs, you may call them up, no harm in checking if you qualify.
26. Transfer high interest rate balances to a lower interest credit card, but beware of transfer fees and pay as much as you can before the intro rate expires.
27. Use a calculator when you shop so you know when you’ve reached your limit. That way there are no surprises when you get to the register. When in debt, we recommend you stop using credit card, unless you can pay off the entire due balance every month. Else, it will pile up your credit card debt.
28. Shop with cash and only carry as much as you’ve planned to spend. That way it’s impossible to go over the budgeted amount.
29. When you pay off a debt, apply that monthly payment to another debt.
30. Write down your debt goals. Share them with a close friend or family member so you’re accountable for them. Here’s a guide to setting up realistic debt goals.
31. Celebrate small successes. Paying off 10% of your debt or knocking out a credit card is a cause for celebration. Just recognizing that you’ve made progress can boost your motivation.
32. Fight discouragement. Sometimes you may feel like giving up, but trust me, if you keep working hard the work will pay off.
33. Prepare your meals at home more often. It’s cheaper than eating out.
34. Cut back on leisure spending, like fun, entertainment, clothes, shoes, and electronics.
35. Ditch your smartphone and you can also get rid of the required internet plan.
36. Start a side small business, like landscaping, painting, babysitting, or web design. Here’s all you need to know about starting a home based small business.
37. Pay more than the minimum. Paying the minimum will make you pay the most interest overall. We would recommend pay in full, if you can.
38. Treat your credit cards like installment loans. Calculate how much it would take to pay them off in three, four, or five years and make that payment.
39. Ask your creditors to lower your interest rate. Lowering your interest rates lets more of your payment go toward the balance instead of finance charges. Mentioning that you get credit card offers with lower interest rates from competitor banks could make a creditor offer you a lower rate to keep you as a customer.
40. Rent out an extra room or turn your garage into an apartment. The rental income can help you pay off your mortgage.
41. If you’re renting, move to a less expensive apartment or home when your lease is up.
42. Reduce your tax withholding if you regularly get a refund, the extra money on your paycheck can help you reduce your debt now rather than at tax time. More interest saved!
43. Buy things from yard sales and resell them on eBay or your own “yard sale”. Some furniture can be spruced up and sold for a higher price. Here’s our guide to garage sell shopping.
44. Offer tutoring services if you’re good in a school subject.
45. Make crafts and sell them on Etsy. My wife is a regular buyer of stuff from Etsy. Recently she bought a pendant made out of used dinner spoon. Nice work of craftsmanship from someone in South Africa.
46. Give music lessons if you have a musical talent. This NYT article talks about growing popularity of online music lessons.
47. Take photographs and sell them. You can earn money each time your photos are downloaded. This article from Lifehack discusses the subject thoroughly.
48. Work overtime at your job. If you’re paid hourly, your boss may let you work a few extra hours to get paid overtime.
49. Teach a class at your local gym or community college.
50. Cash out your stock. Some experts say you shouldn’t tap into retirement to pay off debt, but it could avoid problems down the line. Check with your financial advisor to see the tax impact of liquidating your stock.
51. Get a support system and keep negative people out of it. Who makes You spend more?

The truth is there is no one easy way to get out of debt. Nearly everyone who pays their debt uses a variety of methods and strategies. Singly these items may not be that effective. Combine several of them and they will have a big impact on your debt.