How to Get Out of Debt Quickly (and cure a hangover)

Is it possible to figure out how to get out of debt quickly?

Getting out of debt is like trying to cure a hangover.

Being in debt sucks. Being hungover sucks just as much. Let’s look at how to pay off credit card debt quickly relates to curing that hangover.

How to get out of debt quickly

Before we look at getting out of debt, let’s start off with a story.

“We need to get out of the room, it’s almost noon.”

I suddenly wake up and realize that my roommate for the weekend, Joseph of Debit vs Credit, is all packed up and ready to go. All I remember is attending an after party hosted by Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich and then dancing like a fool.

…and then it hits! A brutal hangover. My head is pounding. I feel like vomiting. I want to drink water but I can’t even move. I missed Adam Baker’s presentation. I suddenly notice that I have a massive hangover and feel like complete crap.

You see the problem with me is that I’m usually pretty strict with my diet and my training regimen. So when I get a chance to let loose I like to go all out. This is especially true when the drinks are all FREE. Who says no to free drinks? What kind of a personal finance blogger would I be?

Did I mention that I spent the weekend at the Financial Bloggers Conference in Chicago? Did I mention that I won the Plutus Award for Best Finance Blog For College Students? Did I mention that I did the stupidest thing by driving 9 hours from Toronto?

Let’s get back to the story.

How can you cure a hangover? It’s the same way that you can pay down credit card debt and learn how to pay off debt quickly.

There are two strategies that I recommend for curing a hangover:

  1. Prevent the hangover.
  2. Take steps in the right direction and tough it out.

When you think about it even more, curing a hangover is just like paying off credit card debt.

The best strategy for paying off credit card debt is to prevent getting into debt.

The reason that I was hungover was because I drank too much. It’s really that simple. To cure a hangover I just need to drink less next time and not mix. There’s no magic solution.

When it comes to credit card debt you just don’t buy crap that you don’t need. Don’t get a credit limit that you can’t handle. Don’t buy every new iPad or random product that comes out. The only way that you can ensure that you remain debt free for the rest of your life is to prevent it.

The best strategy to apply when already in debt or hungover is to do the right things and wait it out.

When you’re hungover you know that you need to drink lots of water. You also know that you need to rest and just wait it out. If you could cure a hangover instantly you would be a multi-billionaire by now because nobody out there has the secret cure.

When you want to become debt free from your student credit cards you need to stop buying crap and put all of your extra money towards your debt payments. That’s all there really is to it. There’s no magic pill or quick solution. You need to throw more money at your debt payments.

Then the waiting game begins. You have a hangover because you drank too much vodka and likely because you mixed booze. You’re in debt because you spent money that you didn’t have and couldn’t pay off your balance. Now you need to suffer and deal with the consequences. It’s not going to be easy. You have nobody to thank but yourself. I chose to put all of those drinks into my system. I don’t know why I did it. Just like none of us know why we end up in debt.

You won’t cure a hangover right away. You won’t get out of credit card debt in a flash. It will take time. It will suck. You will get through it. You know what to do. You just need to start doing it. Paying off credit card debt is just like curing a hangover.

Let’s conclude with the perfect quote for the moment for those that want to see how to get out of debt quickly.

“In a race, sooner or later there’s a moment that separates the winner from those who don’t win. That instant is your chance, the moment you’ve been waiting for.” – Seth Godin.

5 thoughts on “How to Get Out of Debt Quickly (and cure a hangover)”

  1. Credit card debt is really a struggle, especially with all these student loans to worry about too. Keep up the great writing — if more of us heed your advice we’ll all be better off. Congrats on the award, too.

  2. Now that the hangover’s gone (it IS gone, isn’t it?), put up the “Plutus Award Winner” thing on your site. What’s the point of your winning an award if you can’t let your readers know about it?
    Go find the code here:
    http://www.plutusawards.com/
    Next time, (a) drink less, (b) have a glass of water or soft drink for every glass of demon rum, and (c) force yourself to drink a big glass of water before you pass out. I’m told those things make a difference.

    1. Drinking less and consuming water are the best ways to prevent a hangover. Just like the best way to get out of credit card debt is to not buy crap you don’t need. We all mistakes. I’m certainly guilty of it lol.

      Yea about the plutus award winner.. I tried but I have no coding skills. I tried to put it in the sidebar but I couldn’t figure out how to keep it within the sidebar. I need to ask someone with better coding skills for help.

      Thanks for stopping by Donna. Too bad we didn’t get to chat more at the conference. You were a popular lady.

      1. It was a pretty talkative weekend. Next time could you say something like, “We were going to take a few minutes to talk about writing. When would be a good time?” Then I’ll make it happen.
        I should have just invited you to join us. Adrenaline makes me forget my manners. Next year in Texas!

        1. That’s a great line: “Adrenaline makes me forget my manners.”

          I think I consumed more than enough remarkable information/ideas to hold me over until the next conference!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *