How to pay off your debt

A big part of managing your debt is understanding your financial situation. This means looking at how much money you’re earning or have coming in, as well as the costs you have in life (like your bills, rent or other financial obligations).

See if your repayment date suits you

Look at the frequency of each payment on your loans and find out whether that can be changed. Perhaps you make repayments monthly but get paid fortnightly. Changing your repayments to match your pay cycle could help you manage better.

See if you can increase your repayments

Knowing how much of your money goes towards your debts will help you make decisions on how much more you might be able to repay. Increasing your loan repayments, or making additional repayments, will reduce your balance and interest payable so you can pay the loan off sooner.

See what extra funds you can use

If you have money saved, you may prefer to use that money to pay off a portion of, or all of, your outstanding debt.

If you have a variable loan and have previously paid extra, you may be able to redraw those funds to pay off another debt if it’s a higher financial cost to you.

If you’ve got multiple debts to pay off, debt consolidation may be a good option to consider.

Consolidating your debt means taking out a single line of credit to pay off all the debts you currently have. This could be a new credit card or personal loan that allows you to manage your debt more easily and potentially pay less fees and interest. Learn more about the benefits of consolidating your debt.

Depending on your situation, you may be able to take out either a personal loan for debt consolidation or do a balance transfer on a credit card. If you’re not sure if a credit card or personal loan would work better for you, you can read about how they work to help make a decision.