Whether it's old debt or the holiday hangover, as big bills start rolling in, 'Budgeting for Dummies' author Athena Valentine says there are a couple of methods for paying them off fast.
"So, there's one called the 'Debt Snowball,' which is my personal favorite. But what you do is you make your minimum payments on all of your bills, and you take whatever extra money you can find, and you start paying off your smallest debt," Valentine explained while sitting down with ABC15's Katie Raml.
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As soon as your smallest debt is paid in full, she says you would then move on to tackling your next smallest bill. The 'Snowball Method' aims to provide more early, little wins to keep you motivated.
"Then there is another debt repayment method called the 'Avalanche Method,'" Valentine added.
The 'Avalanche Method' will have your dollar go the farthest, but it can be less motivating.
"The 'Avalanche Method' is kind of the opposite. You take all your debt, and you line it up from like the largest interest rate to the lowest one, and you pay your debt off according to the interest. And so that one, you're going to be saving more money over time because you're paying less in interest, but it might be a little hard to stick to because you're not going to have those quick wins," said Valentine.
She says taking a pulse of yourself can help you decide which one is best for you!
"If you are in your feelings, I would go for the 'Debt Snowball.' If you're analytical and you're like, 'Numbers baby! I want to see the scale go down,' I would highly suggest the 'Debt Avalanche,'" Valentine explained.
If you're looking for more financial advice you can follow Athena Valentine online and on social media. She's known as the "Money Smart Latina."