What is the best way to start clearing debt?

[Herecomestheson0106]

I have a couple of credit cards and shop cards I have accumulated over the years. I've paid them back and used them again and gone round in circles. My income has recently increased and any borrowing I have is affordable but it's still a huge chunk going out on interest alone and I've decided 2025 is the year I try to clear it all (or at least make a significant dent).

what is the best way? start with the smaller bits of borrowing and work my way up?

set an amount to pay back for each and pay a bit of everything at the same time?

start on the bigger ones?

I’d do this too.

Sell stuff, books, CD's clothes on Vinted. Furniture via Facebook marketplace and pay towards the debt.

Set your self a food budget and meal plan each week.

I got rid of a £10k credit card debt and an overdraft doing this.

I have done debt counselling. Firstly wrote everything down including interest rates. Make minimum payments on each then pay off the one with the highest interest but getting rid of small debts can be psychologically good so i always try to get clients to set targets to get rid of c by a certain time to get that boost.

Most of all, cut them up especially store cards, If you can't afford something save up

First I would contact the National Debtline and see if anything can be done to lower the debt.

I'd move as much as I could to a 0% interest credit card.

I'd declutter and stop buying crap you don't need. Adopt a minimalist lifestyle.

if you have borrowed money from a friend or family member think if they need it back quickly for good relationships it might be more important to pay this back first especially if it was just to tide you over a redundancy or something. if they specifically say no hurry clear your other debts first then that is fine

Snowball is paying smallest debt first
Avalanche is paying highest interest debt first

snowball by quickly getting rid of smaller debts gives psychological boost to keep going,avalanche is the mathematical correct way as you pay back the least amount of accrued interest at high rates so is cheapest

personal if the 20,000 k is made up of a £300 debt a £525 debt and 3 debts of 4000, 6500 and 8675. it probably makes sense to clear the first small debts of 300 and 525 but it would make no sense to then clear a £4000 loan at 5% before the 8675 loan at 23%

certainly generally a mxture works best

but ultimately it is about budgetting so that debts are not needed, a general rule that if you can't pay out of savings you can't have it ( a mortgage is different)