Three steps to help manage your debt

Preparing to live your best life means knowing ways to manage your debt, so you can be financially healthier, wealthier and wise.

1. Understand what you owe. Understanding how debt can cost you over time and beginning to plan a way to eliminate it will help you find your financial balance. Once you know how much you owe, you may want to identify unnecessary spending and a debt elimination goal over time. It all starts with a plan!
2. Develop a pay down strategy. First, you may want to prioritize how you want to pay off your balances. One option is the avalanche method, paying off the highest interest rate first, while also making minimum payments on the rest. Another option is the snowball method. You pay off the lowest balance and then, take the amount you would have paid for that card each month and roll it into the next debt amount.
3. Build a budget. A budget will help you get the most out of your income. Knowing how much debt you have and how much you need to allocate towards living and spending expenses is important in helping to pay down debt fast. When you have a plan for your money, it can work better for you and help you reach your goals faster.

Check out Voya's Budget Calculator to start your next steps and build a budget