When you're $35k-ish in debt...cutting expenses comes first because that's easy.
Well, easy for us.
Some have a harder time at it than others. But it's a really simple step. And depending on how much you cut back, that might be enough to get out of debt. But if you want to reduce the amount of interest you pay over that time or get out of debt quicker, there is a more difficult step that must take place: make more money.
Making more money
According to the debt paydown schedule we created on Mint, we could pay off our debt in 2 years and 20 months if we paid $1,600 per month on our credit cards, paying off highest interest rates first.
But we want to do this quicker and stop paying so much in interest. So we're going to buckle down and try to earn more money on the side. It's going to be tough, though. With two kids and one on the way in February 2018, it's not like we can commit to extra full-time jobs.
It's also great that I know how to invest well, because we can compound any extra funds we earn in the stock market.
Not spending so much
After having to shut down the healthcare startup and leaving NYC, we had some bad luck on the debt side. While earning more is usually the first thing people try to do, not spending as much is actually the easier option. Especially for us since we have lived on a sailboat and been traveling so long, we're not used to having much stuff and everything at our disposal.
It's going to be a tough road (lol, pun intended since we'll be living in an RV for the foreseeable future!) but we're adventurous and this is actually going to be fun for us instead of a chore.
It's all about perspective!