The best way to reduce your debt is to pay off the smallest debt with the highest interest rate.  So if I had three credit cards with the following situations:

1. $500 balance at 18% interest
2. $1,000 balance at 12% interest
3. $2,000 balance at 8% interest

Photo © by striatic

You can quickly see that there is no question, I would pay off the $500 bill first.  Once I finished paying it off, I would then take what I had been paying on that bill and add it to the amount I had been paying on the $1,000 bill to help pay it off faster.  Then repeat it with the last bill.  But what if the interest rates were reversed and the situation looked like this?

1. $500 balance at 7% interest
2. $1,000 balance at 14% interest
3. $2,000 balance at 20% interest

How would you handle it?  From a purely financial situation, you would pay off the $2,000 balance first; however, that is going to take you four times the amount of time to pay off as it would take you to pay off the $500 balance.  So the question is do you have the determination to hold on until you have paid off the biggest bill?

Most of us prefer to see the progress made and to receive less bills in the mail.  So the real root question is “which way will enable you to keep eliminating debt effectively and keep you continuing on the path with determination?”  And while paying off the $2,000 is the best financial answer, paying off the $500 balance may be the best practical answer.  Each family needs to determine that answer based on you personally.

You can also look at transferring the balance on the higher one to reduce the interest while you pay off the smaller balance.  Just be sure to read all the fine print such as transfer fees, penalties for late payments, and if you take an introductory offer, what happens if it is not paid off before the time of that offer is up.  And remember the real key is pay the debt off and stay out of debt!

What do you think about these tips to pay off debt?

In a previous post, I discussed why getting a college education is so important.  Despite this, your child has to be smart about college debt or they will find themselves in the same spot many are in today.

Many young adults don’t think twice about racking up large student debts. I know that for some people, getting a student loan is the only way they’ll be able to attend college, so it can be a good investment for many, but I would advise you to sit down with your teen and explain how these loans work.

Many college students do not work, so they take out enough to pay for their living expenses as well as tuition and other student fees. I encourage you to explain to them that they’ll have to start paying towards this loan once they graduate, when they’re just starting out in life and will have many other expenses to worry about.  If your child does need to obtain a student loan, my advice is that they use it for educational expenses only and get a job to pay for their living expenses.

I shared a story I had with my 7 year-old daughter Ava last summer but want to discuss this again because it shows that you might even be able to discuss student loans with your child(ren) way before they start applying for college.  Last May, Ava’s school had Award’s Day for the students. Ava earned a gold medal for exceeding in all academic areas. Not many of her peers obtained this so I was very proud of her for working so hard at school.

The next morning, on our way to school, I told Ava how proud I was of her and started to discuss the importance of getting good grades and giving her best effort. I know college is far off but it will be here before we know it. I told Ava that if she continues to do well until she graduates from high school, she will have more options on where she can go to college. I also told her that a college might even pay for her to attend their school.

Ava then said, “That’s called a scholarship.” My mouth about dropped to the floor—we were on to something here. I then went further and explained that if she did not get a scholarship she could still go to college but would probably have to work or get a student loan.

Tracy and I do invest for both our daughters’ college, but may not have enough to cover the entire tuition ourselves. I went on to tell her that once she graduates and gets a job, she will have to start paying this loan off. Ava then said, “I will actually have to pay more than the amount the loan was for.” Now I was really in shock. I asked her how she knew this and she replied, “Most people don’t just give you money for free—you have to pay them more since they let you borrow it.”

At this point I did not know what to say.  My seven-year-old knows more about student loans than many college freshmen do.  When I got to school, I called my wife,Tracy, to let her know about our conversation. It turns out, Ava and Tracy had a similar conversation the day before.

We discuss money topics with our children as often as we can. We talk openly about how much I make and the bills that we have. I know some of the things we talk about are over our daughters’ heads, but this conversation showed me that maybe they actually understand more than what I think they do.

As a teacher, I know we don’t teach enough financial skills to our students. If you are a parent it is so important to discuss money with your child(ren) when the opportunity presents itself—you never know the impact it will have.

Lose the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction

One is that you won’t be able to take the home mortgage interest deduction and reduce your taxable income. First off, in order to claim this credit, you must itemize your deductions which a majority of Americans do not do; most take the standard deduction.

Let’s say you do itemize and can claim this deduction. We’ll say you’re in the 25% income tax bracket. You have a 30-year, $200,000 mortgage with a 5% interest rate. You would pay your mortgage company $10,000 a year in interest (5% of $200,000 is $10,000).

Now for your big write-off. Since you’re in the 25% tax bracket, you’ll be able to write off 25% of the interest you paid on your mortgage. Using the above-mentioned numbers, your write-off would be $2,500 (25% of $10,000 equals $2,500).

So, if you think you should keep your mortgage because of this deduction, you are basically saying that one should pay $10,000 a year in interest to his/her mortgage company so this person can reduce his/her taxable income by $2,500. I am no mathematical genius, but paying $10,000 to save $2,500 doesn’t make much sense to me. If you find someone who likes this math, please give him/her my contact information and I will gladly write them a check for $2,500 in exchange for $10,000.

Investing the Money is a Better Return

Another argument I’ve heard against paying off a mortgage early is that one could invest this money and earn more in the stock market. That is hard to argue against because it is true. If your mortgage rate is 5% and you pay it off early you will, in essence, be earning 5% a year. The stock market averages over 10% growth a year so, mathematically, paying extra towards your principal instead of investing this amount is not wise.

Here is where we have to take a look at the bigger picture. Since this is the case, why don’t more people take out a home equity loan and invest all of this in mutual funds? One could borrow money at a 5% set interest rate and earn over 10% on this same money by investing it— sounds like a no-brainer to me.

Once again, here is where we need to take a look at the emotional impact of such a decision. Most people will not do this because they don’t view their house as just an investment—it is a huge part of who they are. In fact, according to a 2011 poll conducted by Allstate/The National Journal Heartland Monitor, the best reasons for home ownership are:

• Having a place to raise a family 40%
• Building equity rather than paying rent 26%
• Making a good long-term investment 13%
• Acquiring an asset you can pass along 9%
• Being part of a neighborhood and community 6%
• Following in your parents’ footsteps 2%
• Getting a tax deduction 2%

While you could invest this money, imagine the feeling of owning all of your possessions!  I bet the grass in your backyard feels a lot different when you own it.

So, after reading these two posts, are you convinced that you should position yourself to pay off your mortgage early? Please let us know what you think about this in the comments.

Let’s say you buy a house for $150,000. You make a down payment of $30,000 so you take out a 30-year mortgage for $120,000 with a 5% interest rate.  Your monthly payment would be $644.

To find out the true cost of this $150,000 house we’ll do some math. Paying $644/month adds up to $7,728 each year ($644 x 12). Take that $7,728 and multiply it by 30 years to get $231,840. Add your $30,000 down payment to this amount and your $150,000 house will cost you $261,840 when all is said and done!

I feel that it is a great idea to pay-off your mortgage early once you have an emergency fund in place, have paid-off your other debts and starting saving for your retirement and kids’ college (if applicable).

How You Can Pay Off Your Mortgage Early

There are a few ways you can pay off your mortgage faster.

Pay Extra Each Month

You can promise yourself that you will pay extra each month towards this loan and sign up for a 30-year loan. If you’re serious about paying your home off early, this is probably not the best option.

Most of us make promises that we cannot keep. We might have the best intentions to pay extra each month but then something comes up—Valentine’s Day in February, summer vacation in July, Christmas in December—and we find we need this “extra” money.

Make Bi-Weekly Payments

If you do have a 30-year loan, you could sign up to make biweekly payments instead of a monthly payment. These biweekly payments will be half of what your monthly payment is but you’ll actually be making an “extra” payment each year.

Here is how this works.  Let’s say your monthly payment is $1,000. You will pay $12,000 each year towards your mortgage: 12 (months in a year) times $1,000 (monthly payment) = $12,000. If you used the biweekly approach, you’ll pay $500 (half of the monthly $1,000 payment) every two weeks. There are 52 weeks in a year so you’ll make 26 half payments. $500 times 26 equals $13,000; thus, you will make one extra $1,000 payment each year. Doing this can trim anywhere from five to seven years off your 30-year loan depending on the terms.

One warning about this approach—be careful that your mortgage company doesn’t charge a fee for this. Some of them try to slip this in so just make sure yours does not do this to you.

Refinance

The easiest way to pay off your loan might be to refinance. As I write this, interest rates are very low. My family moved from Florida to Georgia in the summer of 2006. We ended up going with a 30-year loan. Two years later, interest rates dropped and we refinanced. We were able to lower our rate by a full two points and reduced our term from 30 years to 15 years. We pay around $150 more each month compared to our original loan but will own our house free and clear much earlier and save almost $100,000. Not everyone is eligible to refinance but it’s something definitely worth looking into.

Stay tuned!  In the next post I’ll discuss some common arguments against paying off your mortgage.  In the meantime, what do you think about paying off your mortgage early?

First of all, Scripture teaches us to own no man but to love them in Romans 13:8.  So we should be doing our absolute best to avoid all debt and remove ourselves from any debt we currently have.  To that same point, we do live a world where having a credit card or at least a debit card can be needed.  I personally carry one credit card that I use for purchases such as airline tickets, online stores, etc.  I choose to use a credit card in these situations for the protection that it offers and the fact that it is not tied directly to my bank account; however, I never purchase something that I do not already have the money to pay for it with.  This way when my credit card statement comes in, I can pay my balance off in full.  So in this situation a zero interest card can just be a temptation to rack up a debt I do not need.  You have to remember that typically if you do not pay your balance off by the date they give you, typically six months to a year, you will be paying interest for the time that it was on the card being charged “zero percent interest” plus all the time it remains on there until it is fully paid off.

However, there is a good time for zero interest loans.  My family was forced into a situation where our lawn mower died suddenly on us.  We needed to purchase a new one; however, we did not have all the cash we needed at that time.  My dad was making a good income, so we could set aside one-sixth of the amount to pay for it each month.  But we needed the mower right away.  We decided to take out a six month no interest credit card with the store we were purchasing it from, and we would pay that amount we could set aside each month.  That would put us paying it off right on time with no interest.  Yes, there was a risk to this in that if something unexpected happened, we could have been left with a debt and interest, so that is something you have to consider.

Also, I have seen many people do balance transfers to zero interest loans in order to be able to pay off more of the principle in a shorter time frame.  This can work if you are able to transfer the balance and thereby “pay it off” before the zero interest time frame runs out.  The savings in interest each month can often allow you to pay off up to $100 in principle more a month and eliminate months of debt payments.

So the real question you should be asking when deciding whether to use a zero interest loan is who is gaining the advantage here?  Me or the credit card company?  Use them wisely to remove yourself from debt and then stay out of debt!

Let’s take a look at a few Bible verses about debt and what we can learn from them.  By the way, all of these scriptures are quoted from the NIV and used from BibleGateWay.com (a handy resource).

Repay Debt

The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously. (Psalm 37:21)

Scripture tells us that we are to pay back the debt when we borrow.  This makes a lot of sense.  I think we hear to many stories of people who try to flee from their debts or file bankruptcy to avoid paying what has been borrowed.  This is irresponsible.  If people choose to borrow they must be responsible enough to repay.  Sometimes this is difficult and a payment plan needs to be created, however, we should always work to repay the debt even if it takes longer than expected.

Avoid Debt

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.  (Proverbs 22:7)

I’ve always felt like I was in bondage to debt when I had car loans, credit card debt, etc.  I knew my freedom was limited because I had to pay the debts each month and couldn’t do anything else with the money.  I know it’s easy to want a new car, but when you sign the loan, you’re signing an agreement to pay that debt over several years.  The thought of owing someone that money each and every month for years is discomforting even if you have a nice new car to drive.

Debt Presumes on the Future

Now listen, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  (James 4:13-14)

The truth is that none of us know what the future will bring.  Back to the car debt example…what if you take out a car loan for 5 years and then lose your job after 3 years.  You thought you could afford the car payments, but you couldn’t foresee losing your job in 3 years.  The same holds true when using a credit card.  What if you use a credit card to charge some expensive electronics for your TV room?  You might think you can pay the card off in a few months, but what happens if you incur a major medical expense?  Did you see that expense coming?  Of course not!  Again, we can’t assume we can afford debt payments past today.

Overall, these are some valuable scriptures to follow about debt whether you’re a Christian or not.  We need to avoid debt if possible because it presumes upon the future and if you’re in debt, do everything you can to pay it back because it’s the right thing to do for your lenders.

What do you think about these Bible verses about debt?

You have decided you are going to cancel your Bank X Credit Card, so the first thing you need to do is have your account number, any passwords or access codes you may have set up with them, and your last statement.  Make sure that you have paid the balance off in full before calling them.  Then call the customer service number listed on the statement.  They should ask you for your account number, possibly a password, and some other verifying information.  After this, they will ask you how they can help you.  This is when you state that you would like to cancel your card.  They may offer you various offers to keep you with them, and this is when you have to have the determination to stick with your goal – cancel the card.  Be sure to write down the person’s name you spoke with, the date, the time of the call, and any confirmation codes they may give you.  The credit card company should mail you a written confirmation in approximately 7-10 business days.  Place this in your files and keep to make sure everything closes out properly on your credit report.  And finally, cut up the credit cards associated with the account you just canceled.

It really is quite simple; however, I’d also like to mention a few things in relation to your credit score and canceling a card.  First of all, there are many factors that go into your credit score, so it is impossible to totally control your credit score.  We do know that your score looks at various categories and uses a percentage scale of each category to determine your score.  Those categories and percentages are Payment History – 35%; Amounts Owed – 30%; Length of Credit History – 15%; New Credit – 10%; and Types of Credit Used – 10%.  One of the pieces that is important in this discussion is the Amounts Owed as that looks at the proportion of balances to your total credit limit.  For example, if you have a credit limit of $20,000 and you owe $10,000, then you are at a 50% ratio.  Then let’s say that card you closed with Bank X earlier had a $0 balance on it, but a credit limit of $5,000, then you have just increased your ratio to 67% which is not a good move.  The lower your ratio, the less of a risk you are.  The higher your ratio, the higher of a risk you are.  So the better move, would have been to pay off about $2,500 to $3,000 of your debt, then close that card.

So while closing a card is very easy, remember the impact it can have on your credit score at the same time.

This is the story of my mother. She has always been frugal in the kitchen and household. But, she has not always made wise financial decisions. That is, until she learned how to pay off debt.

It’s a story that inspires me to remember that big things are possible regardless of circumstance. She reminds me that it’s never too late to begin something new and redeem your situation.

Let me set the stage:

My father worked for the same industrial plant for about 25 years at the time his company was bought out. Major changes forced an early retirement and he was left without health insurance.

Prior to this, my mother had cancer on four separate occasions. In a time when insurance was not available to patients with pre-existing conditions, they were without. She was told she needed to be cancer free for 10 years in order to be eligible. While waiting, cancer struck again.

Ravaged by $20,000 of medical bills and another $20,000 in credit card debt, she found herself at the age of 50 with no savings, feeling out of control, powerless, and uneducated about financial matters.

How to Pay Off Debt

In her own words, here transcribed is her story on how to pay off debt:

There’s one thing that sticks in my mind. I worked at a computer center in the 80s. There I met a husband and wife who were both sales people. They didn’t make a lot of money. They were very frugal and smart with finances. I remember him telling me, “No matter how much or little we make, we put the maximum in our IRA.” Putting money into an IRA (or any investment) hadn’t even occurred to me.

Fast forward to the late 90s; I’m 49 years old. We didn’t have health insurance. We tried to get insurance on our own, but couldn’t. I got cancer for the fifth time. The bills were very high.

I’d been told to go to the hospital social worker and to try to get aid to reduce my medical bills. I had to fill out financial papers. They asked several questions: “How much do you have in CDs, bonds, stocks, savings,” etc. I had to write down “zero” for everything. At the age of 50, I had nothing.

I felt like less than zero. If I had been doing the right thing financially I would have CDs, stocks and bonds … savings.

When you don’t have medical insurance, you feel like a second-class citizen. I had a big problem.

I had 18 to 20 thousand dollars in credit cards bills plus another 20 thousand in medical bills.

My credit cards were at 18-20% interest. The bills kept going up. Occasionally I’d send a payment in on the day it was due, and it would arrive late. I was 50 by the time the “lightbulb” went on in my head.

I had to figure out how to pay off debt so I could prosper. I committed to $600 per month. I had to cut back on everything to be able to make the financial commitment to myself. I also started a business to increase my income.

The key to saving money is to get out of debt. Even though the minimum payments on my credit cards were $30, I paid $600. After paying on time for about 6 months, I called up the credit card companies and asked them to lower my rate.

Pretty soon, I got a card at 0% interest. The bills started going down so I could focus on saving and investing.

I made monthly charts to visualize my progress and to help motivate me. Learning how to pay off debt and having a nest egg became my biggest hobby.

I made of list of the things I wanted: CDs, stocks and bonds, emergency fund, savings, and health insurance.

Once I paid my debt, I started a savings account with the money I’d been spending on debt reduction. Soon, I bought CDs and mutual funds. The more I learned, the more confident I got in purchasing stocks and bonds.

I devoured financial books. I read books from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. They all said the same thing: “Pay yourself. You are a bill.” Money that should be going into savings is not discretionary income.

I was 53 when I started my IRA. I maxed it out every year. I continuously looked ahead to what I will need when I’m 80. I wanted to have enough money invested to create enough interest to live on.

$600 might seem like a lot of money to some people, but you can start with only $50 per month. If you think you can’t save 50 per month, think of it as just $12.50 a week. Ask what you can do without? Save your change and roll it …get rid of bad habits that cost money like drinking soda or smoking.

Five years passed, and I had everything on the list, except health insurance. I said to myself, “I’ve got this money I’m saving, but it can all be taken away without insurance.” I bought an HSA with a high deductable because that’s what I could afford at the time. By having health insurance, I was insuring the money I’d worked so hard to invest.

The day I got my health insurance card I felt as if I’d just received my citizenship card. It was a very proud day.

Learning how to pay off debt and building a nest egg at 50 takes commitment. I committed to living debt free. I became more organized and paid bills immediately. I began to make good choices about what I spent my money on.

Of course, it’s not about hording money; I did not cut charity and the causes I believe in. I cut the unnecessary things that complicated my life. I would no longer be a prisoner to debt.

My favorite financial quote is by Lord Byron, “Ready money is an Aladdin’s lamp.” It’s a very old quote, but very true for me. To be free and not be beholden to others is an empowering thing.

Invest in paying off your debt. Invest in yourself. Learn to pay off debt and you’ll be free.

Jim and Laura are a typical American couple. They just got married last year after dating for four years. Jim is a manager of a local department store and Laura is a school- teacher. They make a combined salary of $100,000 a year, and look forward to raises and increased incomes in their future. They have around $3,000 in their savings account— which seems ample since they are certain they’ll continue to make more money each year—and both drive new cars.

Jim and Laura go shopping whenever they want and pretty much buy anything they like without thinking twice. In addition, they eat out most nights of the week but try to keep it cheap; they usually don’t spend more than $30 for these dinners.

After renting an apartment for six months, they decide it’s time to buy a house.  Even though it’s just the two of them right now, they want at least a 2,000-square-foot house because children are on the horizon. Jim and Laura find the “perfect” house but it’s a little above the amount they wanted to spend.  Their Realtor® tells them that it’s not a problem. They can sign up for a five-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and by the time it adjusts, they’ll have so much equity in their house they can just refinance. The housing market is strong and they’re confident their home will go up in value considering the prime neighborhood it’s in.  Both Jim’s and Laura’s parents live in much smaller homes but, after some talk, the couple feels they deserve this larger house because they work so hard and all their married friends are getting big houses too. Jim and Laura sign on the dotted line and their American Dream begins.

Fast-forward five years. Jim and Laura are now the proud parents of a little boy, James, and a girl, Sarah. After having James, Laura took eight weeks off from teaching to stay home and loved every minute of it. She wanted to stay home longer but they went through their savings on that 10-day Caribbean cruise before she got pregnant.  Laura began to feel very upset at having to send James to daycare but there was no way around it—they needed her check to pay the bills. Jim saw how unhappy she was and one night decided to have a talk.  It was very encouraging and they both agreed to make a change and start saving so Laura could eventually stay home.

This change lasted a few months before they started spending their entire paychecks again on things such as new clothes and dinners out.  Last year Laura had Sarah and was only able to stay home with her for four weeks before having to return to work. She now spends over half of her take-home pay on daycare expenses. Laura dreads going to work and hits the snooze button at least five times every morning because she hates getting up to face another day.  Jim is not doing much better. He’s had to lay off most of his salespeople. The raise he was promised every year did not happen. There are even rumors that his job might be the next to go. He’s started to look for other jobs but nobody seems to be hiring in his area of expertise.

To make a bad situation even worse, Jim and Laura’s five-year ARM is scheduled to adjust this year and their monthly mortgage payment will increase by $500.  The house has dropped greatly in value and Jim and Laura are underwater on their loan so they cannot refinance.  In addition, after James was born, Jim and Laura began to use their credit cards again with the promise of paying them off in full each month. That plan didn’t pan out and they now have $10,000 in credit card debt.

They both have a lot of trouble falling asleep at night and don’t feel optimistic about either their marriage or their future. They have started arguing more and more—something they never did in the good old days—and these arguments usually concern their finances. What was supposed to have been their American Dream has turned into a scary nightmare!

Not a pretty picture, is it? I hope your story is not like Jim and Laura’s but, unfortunately, I know a lot of people can relate to this couple in one way or another. The great news for Jim and Laura (and maybe you too) is that life allows us to learn and adapt and change.

Jim and Laura are obviously an example not to follow—but we can learn so much from them.  Many people don’t see the need to learn about money and how to manage it correctly. They bury their heads in the sand and don’t want to be worried about the true state of their finances because, if they did, they might have to change their spending habits.

The thing is, if you continue to make poor financial decisions, these actions will eventually come back to haunt you.  Even if you make $5 million a year but spend $6 million, you’ll wake up one day and find that you are broke. The great news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. We can educate ourselves, find examples to emulate, create goals and take action.

What do you think about this story of Jim and Laura and  how they got into this financial bind?

There are only two things you can do in situations such as these.  You either have to generate more income or decrease your expenses.  A lot of people can’t decrease expenses because they’re already minimized to begin with.  In this case, you have to get creative and start looking at bringing more money in.  How do you do that?  Let’s look at a couple of ideas.

Increase Income by Selling Something

Many people don’t realize how much stuff they have until they start taking inventory of it and realize they need to raise some extra income somehow.  There are boats and motorcycles parked in driveways while people are fighting to get out of credit card debt.  There are also clothes, electronics, furniture and many other items that can be sold to raise extra money.  Take an inventory of these items and consider selling them to get your debt snowball rolling.  If you haven’t used something in over a year, get rid of it!  If it’s not a necessity, as in the case of the motorcycle and boat example, sell it!

Should you sell your house to get out of debt?

This is a difficult option to consider for people, but it might be important to do if you’re home is too expensive.  In his book, The Total Money Makeover, Dave Ramsey doesn’t recommend selling your house unless the costs for the mortgage (including taxes) are more than 45% of your take home pay.  Selling a home is a huge emotional decision and it’s probably best to focus on other ways to generate income first.  Note:  Dave Ramsey recommends that a house not cost more than 25% of take home pay.  Such advice will help keep you out of trouble with home expenses.

Increase Income by Working More

You may need to work extra hours or a part-time job if you’ve sold everything you can and still need more money to pay down your debt.  A lot of people don’t want to work extra to pay off their debt because it has an impact on their personal life.  More hours means more time away from family and probably less rest.  But, you have to remember that working extra to pay down your debts is only temporary.  You won’t have to do it forever!

What types of jobs can help generate extra income?

My advice to the lady who couldn’t pay extra on her debts was to look for a retail position in which she could work nights or weekends after her regular job.  There was also an opportunity for her to consider a job with a higher pay raise.  Don’t forget to evaluate your current career situation and determine if you could get paid more doing the same work elsewhere.  If so, it might be time to explore other opportunities.  Also, all people have unique talents and skills.  Determine what you’re good at and perhaps consider turning it into a side business to earn extra income.  Some opportunities require more time to get started and earning than others, but hey, getting started today is one step closer than you were yesterday!

As you earn extra money it’s important to remember to use it for your debt plan.  Don’t be tempted to use it for a random shopping trip. Use that money solely for your debt payment plan and forget you ever earned it.

What’s your next step?  Get your creative juices flowing and start creating a list of things you can sell around your house today!

What ways have you earned extra income to pay down your debts?