11 simple steps to help you pay off any kind of debt

Debt can be a real weight on your shoulders.

Even though some debts are worse than others (think high-interest, low-reward credit card debt), knowing some of your hard-earned money will go toward digging yourself out of a hole rather than building a brand-new metaphorical tower can be discouraging.

That's not to say that you can't dig out.

Take, for instance, the couple who set aside half their income to pay off their mortgage in five years, or the woman who paid off $34,000 of student loans and launched her own business in only four years. Consider the Texas couple who tracked their spending to pay off $24,000 of debt or the teachers who eliminated $92,000 of debt in less than three years.

From their stories, we can learn a lot about how to make a significant dent in your debt. Below, we've highlighted 11 of the recurring debt-repayment tips and strategies we've learned from people who are no longer in the red.

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