If you don’t know Dave Ramsey, you should spend a time learning about him and his financial lessons – especially if you’re in debt.

Dave Ramsey is one of the best-known financial experts today. He’s an author, – he authored several books on finance – a radio host and an entrepreneur. What separates Dave Ramsey from other financial experts is his specialization in finance: debts!

Dave himself suffered from serious debts that, at one point, even took things away from him. With dedication and faith, however, he learned to overcome his debts and even made a fortune from his business and other endeavors! In other words, Dave is someone you would like to listen to when you’re in debt or other financial trouble.

In this post, we will cover Dave Ramsey’s 9 tips for getting out of debt. The tips are actually very straightforward, so let’s get straight to it!

Dave Ramsey’s 9 Tips For Getting Out of Debt

Get a part-time job – Having a part-time job will add to your income, helping you to pay your debts. I know this sounds obvious, but many people don’t spend their time on other income-earning opportunities outside their regular job. They’d even prefer to spend a lot – go to this restaurant, buy new shoes, etc. – even when they’re in debts! Spend your time on income-earning activities, at least up until you paid all your debts.
Start a side gig – This is similar to getting a part-time job. A side gig means you’re the “boss”, not just another employee. If you have a marketable skill, start selling them. Some of the marketable skills include: graphic design, writing, Photoshop, coding, copywriting, video editing, etc. Yes, many people look for these skills! If you have a hand in manual labor, sell that skill, too!
Sell the car – This can be taken as your last resort, but to put into perspective, a car takes a lot from your money. Gas alone takes a big portion on your budget. So assess if your car is more of an asset or liability. If it turns out to be more of a liability, or your debt is already sinking you, sell the car.
Cut up credit cards – One major reason of debt is having too much credit cards! Cut some of them or cut all of them. The bottom line is: take credits wisely. Or just literally cut the cards with scissors (right after everything is paid, of course! You don’t want things to get worse).
Always pay with cash – This may sound counterintuitive: why pay with cash when you hardly have one? That’s because paying on credit, though convenient, charges you for fees. The fee alone may not amount to anything, but if you compute the overall charges, you’ll see that you paid a lot of dollars – just for fees alone!
Stop investing – Some people think that they can get away from debt through investing, with the mentality that “my money will return!” Not only you’re not guaranteed of returns (which make investing not a good action when you’re under debt), you could also have just paid your debt with the money you use to invest. Then invest once the debts are fully paid.
Ignore broke friends – This is harsh, I know. But you have to choose your friends wisely. A broke friend is probably broke because of his/her lifestyle. Not only is he/she broke, he/she is probably a big spender (which is why he/she is broke in the first place!) Unless he/she is determined to get out from being broke, stay away from them. They’ll not positively influence you.
Make a budget – A lot of financial problems really just fall into a lack of budget. If you have no budget, you have no clear plan about how to manage your money, which leads you to debt and other financial problems. Make a budget and stick to it. Just adjust if it isn’t working.
Educate the kids about the budget – Let them know about your current financial situation, so that they’ll understand you every time you say “No” to their toy or grocery request. Teaching them about the budget also makes them financially educated at the same time.

Conclusion

So those are Dave Ramsey’s 9 tips for getting out of debt. It really all boils down to proper debt management and the discipline to stick to it.

If debt is really taking you over, maybe it’s time to file for bankruptcy. Don’t worry, bankruptcy is not the enemy; it can actually be your friend! Unlike what most people think, bankruptcy is actually another option you can use to manage your debt. It’s a tool, rather than a punishment.

Just be sure that if you file for bankruptcy, have an expert bankruptcy lawyer to help you with your case!