Did you know that total household debt in the U.S. was $17.05 trillion in the first quarter of 2023?
If a debt albatross around your neck is weighing you down and stressing you out, you’ll want to know how to tackle the problem. It’s hard to go about life acting as though everything’s okay when you know you’re drowning in debt with no life preserver in sight.
What are some of your options if you need to get out of debt sooner rather than later?
Continue reading for three tips to help you slay the debt albatross and get back on track.
1. Consider Selling Your Home
One option is to sell your home. Depending on how much your home is worth and how much equity you have in it, you might be able to eliminate your debt or take a big chunk out of it. Selling your home should be a last resort. But it can make a lot of sense if you want to pay off your debt sooner rather than later. You can sell your home, pay off your debt, and buy a less expensive house. When selling your home, you don’t have to do it the traditional way:
- Hire a realtor
- Get a property value assessment
- List your home
- Wait for someone to buy it
There’s an easier way to go about selling your home. It’s faster, and you won’t need a realtor. For instance, if you choose the right online platform, you can sell your home for cash. You can consider cash offers, accept the one you want, and get paid in as little as seven days.
And remember that selling your home for cash usually means selling it as is. That means you won’t have to perform costly repairs before putting it up for sale. You’ll be able to pay off your debt in short order since a cash deal will close without a bunch of conditions slowing things down.
2. Get a Side Hustle
Another way to tackle debt, cut it down to size, and eventually eliminate it is to find a side hustle. In fact, you might want to find multiple side hustles. What is a side hustle? It’s a job you take on in addition to your full-time employment. And it can involve just about anything.
The goal is to use whatever money you make from side hustles to pay down debt quickly.
What are some popular side hustles? They include, among other things, the following:
- Signing up with ridesharing companies
- Making deliveries
- Becoming a virtual assistant
- Renting your home or rooms in your home with Airbnb
- Tutoring online
- Washing and detailing cars
- Starting a landscaping business
Getting one or more side hustles might be the right way to fix your debt problem. When considering side hustles, ensure you choose jobs that interest you. That way, you’ll have more motivation. The last thing you want is to do something you dread just to make more money. Even so, if that’s the only way to reduce your debt, it’s worth doing.
3. Get a Raise or Change Jobs
Yet another way you can make more money is to ask your current employer for a raise. You can ask for a raise if you’ve worked for the same employer for a long time and have a strong track record of success. There’s no guarantee you’ll get one, but it’s within your right to ask. That’s especially the case if you have a good rapport with management or leaders at the company.
You can also consider applying for other positions available at your company. Are there higher-paying positions that need to be filled? Why not apply if that’s the case? If you get the job, you can use the extra money to pay down your debt.
If there’s no way to achieve your objective at your current company, you might want to look for a higher-paying position at another business.
These are some things you can do to tackle your debt situation and achieve better financial health. You won’t be able to fix things overnight. But you can take steps — perhaps one or more of the suggestions above — to get started and move in the right direction.
