How The Snowball Method Can Help With Debt | Financial Expert An…
Meet The Chef Whose Nonprofit Provides Healthy Meals + Human Con…
How To Make a Cucumber Margarita | John Cusimano
See Rachael's Dog Bella Boo Blue's Adorable First Trip to NYC's …
How To Make Shrimp Nachos with Green Tomato or Raw Tomatillo Ver…
75-Year-Old Hot Dog Stand In L.A. Goes Viral On TikTok After Bec…
How To Make No-Bake Chocolate Cream Pie | Duff Goldman
How To Make Waterfall Cake | Cake Boss Buddy Valastro
How To Make Cacio e Pepe With Homemade Cavatelli | Top Chef Joe …
How To Make Cedar Braised Bison | Chef Sean Sherman | The Sioux …
How To Make Pasta alla Norma | Roasted Eggplant Pasta | Rachael…
Two Steps Home HGTV Couple Gives Backyard Tour With Vertical Gar…
How To Make Challah Panzanella | Jake Cohen
Tommy DiDario Styles Man Who Went Viral Offering To Do Odd Jobs …
How To DIY Sun Protection For Hair | Celebrity Hairstylist Ted G…
How To Do a Twist Braid | Summer Hair Trends | Celebrity Hairsty…
How To Make Quick Beef or Chicken Curry with Ginger and Leeks | …
Rachael + John Get Emotional Sharing Figurine Of "Angel Isaboo" …
Fear The Walking Dead Actress Jenna Elfman On Why She Thinks The…
Dharma & Greg Star Jenna Elfman Reminisces On The Show 20 Years …
How To Make Pasta con Poblano | Rachael Ray
Ok so, you probably have rent or a mortgage and bills to pay. Add on credit card debt and student loans and it can start to feel overwhelming. So, where should you begin?
Anthony ONeal, financial expert and author of the new book Debt Free Degree, recommends using the snowball method for debt.
RELATED: The 4 Questions Financial Experts Are Asked All The Time — Answered!
Before you start paying off debt though, Anthony's first piece of advice is to have a budget. This should consist of what he calls your 4 "walls": Rent and utilities, clothing, transportation and food.
Once you have a budget established and you're able to pay your monthly rent and utility bills, regularly buy groceries and so on, the next step is to make all of your MINIMUM payments on credit card debt and student loans.
Next, start working toward establishing an emergency fund, the expert says. Your goal is to have $1,000 in this emergency fund. Once you've reached that milestone, pause and put any extra money you have each month towards paying off your debt and student loans.
WHAT IS THE SNOWBALL METHOD FOR DEBT?
The debt snowball method involves paying off bills in order of smallest to largest, regardless of interest rate. (In other words, if your credit card debt is less than your student loan debt, attack the credit card debt first.)
Start by listing all of your debts from smallest to largest — again, regardless of the interest rate. Then, make minimum payments on everything except the smallest. Attack the smallest debt "with everything you have — sell stuff, take on an extra job," whatever you can do.
Once that smallest debt is paid off, take its payment and any extra funds and apply that to your next smallest debt while continuing to make minimum payments on the rest.
Repeat this until you are debt-free.
Finally, once your debt is paid off, you can go back to putting additional money into your emergency fund. Ideally, you should have 3-6 months of expenses saved to cover you in case of an emergency.
