5. Stay on a budget

There are a couple of paths you can take to pay off your high-interest debt when you're on a tight budget.

• The snowball method. For those who need to see progress, pay off the lowest balance first. You'll feel inspired to keep going.
• The avalanche me...

Ask yourself what you think a realistic amount is to spend on gifts for yourself and others. It should be a number that you can realistically afford without dipping into your savings or creating credit card debt.

Then do your best to stick to your budget without getting ca...

• The traditional budget starts with tracking expenses, getting rid of debt, and then building an emergency fund.
• But you can speed up the process by building a partial emergency fund. It will act as a buffer to replace the use of a credit card for e...