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Save First / Pay Down Second:
Before you start paying down your debt, you should make sure you have at least $1,000 in emergency funds. If you don't, almost anything will trip you up on your path to reducing your debt. Once you have that in place, get on the phone and work to see if you can get better interest rates on your credit cards. This is a whole other topic, but any reduction in interest rates makes your job that much easier.
Once you have your emergency fund in place, start paying down your debt. There are many different views on whether you should pay the smallest balance or the highest interest rate first. It really depends on what motivates you. If you need a small victory first, then go for the smallest balance. If you want to maximize your principal reduction, go after the highest interest rate first. I would recommend that you target one card first and focus on eliminating it. Keep a spreadsheet of all of your credit cards and their balances. Print it in large fonts and stick it on your refrigerator. Stare your debt in the face every morning and see if that doesn't alter your spending habits.
The critical moment will come when your overall debt balance begins to decline noticeably. It's a sign that your expenditures have been reduced to a point where you are paying more than your interest expense plus paying off any new charges. Once you start reducing your principal balance, you will start getting a multiplier effect since the interest expense will keep dropping and the amount of principal you pay will increase with every payment.
Final Thoughts:
In order to get your balances to decline, you may have to do more than just cut your expenses. You might have to get a roommate or move back in with your folks. You might have to take a second (or third) job or work overtime. You might have to sell some of your precious assets, maybe some of the very things that got you into debt in the first place. But the lessons learned will be invaluable.
Make sure that along the way, you not only set goals but give yourself rewards. Fighting a five year debt battle without any break can wear anyone down and the last thing that you want to do is throw your hands in the air and start piling it back on. So give yourself a nice dinner (with a coupon of course) or a night out when you hit major milestones.
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