How to get out of debt, step by step

Write down each debt: who you owe, how much, the interest rate and the minimum payment. Without this honest snapshot you can't decide anything. In Neto you can log debts as negative balances and see them inside your net worth.

Snowball: pay the smallest debt first for quick wins and motivation. Avalanche: attack the highest-interest debt first, which saves you the most money. Both work, pick the one that keeps you going.

Review last month's spending and find leaks (subscriptions, fees, impulse buys). That money is your ammunition: send all of it to your target debt while paying the minimums on the rest.

Schedule payments so you never miss one, and review your progress weekly. Watching the debt shrink (and your net worth rise) is the best fuel to keep going.

Related: the 50/30/20 rulesaving with irregular incomehow to calculate net worth.

Four concrete steps, in this order:

1. List every debt with who you owe, how much, the interest rate and the minimum payment. Without that picture you can't decide anything.
2. Pick a method and stick to it. Avalanche saves more money; snowball keeps more people going. The one you abandon costs far more than the difference between them.
3. Find the money. Review last month's spending for leaks, subscriptions, fees, impulse buys. That's your ammunition.
4. Automate the payments and check your progress weekly. Watching the balance fall is what keeps the habit alive.

Getting out of debt is rarely about earning more. It's about a consistent amount going in the same direction every month.