How To Find Money To Pay Off Consumer Debt

One of the biggest obstacles that many people experience when attempting to pay off credit card debt is acquiring money to pay off debt. To be able to pay back your debt, you need to pay more than the minimum payment, however this is often difficult to do when you're having trouble just making ends meet month after month.

So where on earth do you get money to apply to your credit card debts every month? Allow me to share a few thoughts:

Income tax return: Do you usually receive a substantial tax refund every year? If so, then you should apply a portion of the refund to your credit card debts. On top of that, it is advisable to adjust your tax withholding so that less income taxes are being taken from each check; you will get a smaller tax refund, however you will have additional money to pay towards your debt payments every month. The last thing you want to do is give The IRS free money when you need money to pay off debt!

Personal savings: No one wants to cash out their savings to pay off credit card debt, but when you have credit cards that are costing you 15% and up in interest on a monthly basis but your savings are only earning 4% (or less), it is reasonable to use some of your personal savings so that you can reduce that horrible credit card debt.

Part-time and / or temporary work: If you're seriously in a debt crises, you should consider applying for a part-time, contractual or temporary job. It does not have to be forever, just long enough to repay or at least make a difference in your debt situation.

Sell stuff: One other alternative would be to sell items to help you raise cash. Have a garage sale or auction off items you don't need any longer on eBay. Sell books that you no longer read on Amazon or Half.com. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how much certain things can go for on an online auction!

Decrease spending: Although listed last, this is really the first step you should really take to get extra funds to repay debts. You need to review your expenditures to find out if there are any areas that you could scale back on to generate additional cash to be used towards your credit card debt. Some frequent expenses that might be reduced, at least for the short term, to help pay back debt include food (both groceries and eating at restaurants), entertainment (health and fitness memberships, newspaper subscriptions, cable tv, internet, trips to the book store) and personal care (haircuts, clothes, house cleaning, etc.).

These are only a few ideas on how you can get money to pay off debt. There are hundreds of other ways you can find money to apply towards your credit card debt if you are motivated to find them.