How to Pay Off Debt Fast with Low Income – Complete Guide

Are you worried about how to pay off debt fast with a low income? Don’t worry; you’ve come to the right place. Each month, over 170,000 people come to our website for guidance on debt matters, so you’re not alone.

In this helpful guide, we’ll cover:

• How to understand your money situation, comparing what you own and what you owe.
• Tips on paying off the biggest debts first.
• How to use a simple interest calculator.
• Ways to possibly write off some debt.
• Best methods to manage debts when you have a low income.

We understand your struggles, as some of us have also faced debt in the past. We know how hard it is to make ends meet and how scary it can be when debt collectors come knocking.

Together, we can find a way to work through your debt. Let’s get started and learn more about how to take control of your finances.

Pay Off Debt with Extremely Low Income – Options to Consider

This section covers your options when your income is extremely low or when you’re out of work, and you’re in a very tough financial situation.

 Let’s get into it.

1. Talk to Your Creditors

If you’re strapped for cash, consider contacting your creditors and explaining your situation to them as clearly as possible. 

It’s probable that they attempt to come to an informal arrangement that allows you to pay back your debts over time, usually as fixed monthly payments. 

Court action can take quite a toll on your creditors as well, so it’s possible that they will be looking to avoid lengthy court procedures as well. If so, good for you! Try to reach an agreement that makes it easier for you to pay the debt over time.

2. Try to Seek Help From the Government

The British government offers you a few solutions if your income is low and you’re finding it difficult to get out of debt.

For one, you may apply for tax credits, which are state-sponsored benefits, and they ensure financial support for disabled workers, children, and even low-income workers.

Don’t worry if you’re not paying tax or National Insurance, because tax credits are tax-free, which means they’re not conditional upon whether you pay tax or not.

Other ways to seek help from the government include applying for pension credit or child support benefits. You should definitely also check if you’re eligible for State benefits, and even if you meet the requirements for a free grant from the State.

3. Pay in Instalments (Set up a Debt Management Plan)

Reach out to your creditors and see if you can get them to agree to a plan that makes it easier to repay your loans.

Usually referred to as a Debt Management Plan, this agreement allows you to come to a resolution that allows you to pay your loan back in instalments.

This obviously makes things easier if you’re low-income since you can probably afford small monthly payments much easier than you can pay a large debt back all at once.

Again, your creditors have to agree to your conditions before you have any sort of a valid plan to repay the money you owe.

4. Consider IVA or DRO 

IVAs and DROs are usually very effective loan management plans.

A DRO basically allows you to delay paying your debts for a one year period.

In essence, it is a court-appointed order that gives you the time to recover some and figure out how you’re going to pay back, let’s say, your car payments, minimum payments on your loans, and meet other expenses that you can’t meet immediately. 

An IVA is a contract that sets a repayment plan to allow you to pay your loans off over a specified period. It involves a third party, your insolvency practitioner, and is only valid if your creditors agree to it.

5. Seek Debt Help

If you need help or advice when you’re paying back your loans, try to seek out organisations that can assist you and offer valuable advice.

The format of advice can differ from organisation to organisation, some may be online, some may be in person, others over the phone.

Do evaluate your financial situation before you go seek help for your credit card debts or other loans and see how much you can afford to invest in debt help. If you can’t invest too much, consider free debt help agencies and charities such as StepChange or National Debtline.

Calculate and Analyse Your Finances – Net Worth vs Debt

First off, you need to analyse your financial situation and see where you stand. 

To start, one thing you should absolutely do is to calculate your total net worth and the amount of debt you owe. This generally gives you a good idea on how secure you are, financially speaking.

To put this in perspective, let’s say you own a kitchen table worth £1000, but you still owe £500 on it. Its net worth will be £500. That means the net worth of the car is basically how much it can be sold for minus what you owe on it, which comes to £500.

The net worth to debt ratio is a useful indicator of financial security you may use to see where you stand. Once you calculate your net worth and the total amount of debt you owe, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how bad your situation is.

Pay off the Highest Debts First

This may initially sound counterintuitive, but if you want to get rid of your credit card debts, personal loans, and other loans you owe, it is a good idea to pay off your highest debts first.

Confused? Don’t worry. Here’s why: Your highest debt is the one costing you the most money in interest each month. It’s basic mathematics. The higher the amount of money, the more dollars you have to pay in interest. 

Interest rates are pretty straightforward in that sense. For example, 15% interest on a £1000 loan costs you far less in interest than 15% interest on a £10,000 loan.

Once you pay off your highest debt and don’t have to pay lots of money in interest each month towards that loan, you’ll end up having more money to pay off your smaller debts.

Don’t know where to start? Use my free interest calculator to find out how much interest you are paying on your different lines of credit.

This is a guidance tool only and not an assessment. For accurate interest calculations, contact the company issuing the credit. Do not rely solely on this calculator’s results.

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Fill out the short debt form

Get in Control of Your Credit Cards

If you’re looking to go debt free as soon as possible, you need to get in control of your credit cards. 

I’m aware of how easily people fall into the credit card trap, with promises of easy splurging and instant gratification. In reality, however, you’re giving up a lot more than you’re getting, and trust me when I tell you, credit cards definitely are not worth it.

For one, credit cards come with insanely high amounts of interest, so the longer you keep repaying them, the more money you have to repay in proportion to how much you initially got.

Thousands have already tackled their debt

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Best Way to Manage Debts with Low Income

In this section, I’ll discuss what you should do with extra money, how you can manage debt, and how you can save money and pay off debt as quickly as possible.

1. Cut Down Your Spending

Here’s an obvious tip: cut down on your spending! Try to spend as little as you can on things that aren’t absolute necessities.

You should definitely consider dropping some pricey brands you purchase from. You may consider signing up on websites where people give away their used free stuff, such as furniture and home appliances.

Consider switching your insurance supplier to cut back on insurance spending. Other than that, don’t feel shy in approaching food banks and other free services that can save you a lot of money when you’re struggling with basic necessities.

2. Take up Freelance Work

Another attractive option you should definitely consider is to take up freelance work. You may already be employed at a salaried job. Instead of wasting your precious time off work, you can utilise your skills and take up valuable freelance work for a pretty penny.

If you have a skill that you can market, be it graphic designing, painting, web designing, content writing, or anything else you can sell by the hour, I recommend you make that extra money and start freelancing to supplement your low regular income.

In today’s volatile market, freelancing is one of the most popular ways to earn quick money. It may just be your ticket to going debt free too.

3. See if You Can Reclaim Any Fees or Charges

You should look to reclaim any fees or charges that you might be owed or that you believe you were charged unfairly.

Millions and millions of pounds are lying unclaimed as insurance policies, investments, and lost bank accounts. If you’ve lost a bank account, you may opt for a tracing scheme to help recover the account and your money.

Other than that, if a bank has recently charged you wrongly or too much for some reason, such as breaching your overdraft, you can write to them and claim it back.

4. Consider a Cheap Personal Loan

If you can get a personal loan at a very low interest rate, great! It may be just what you need to pay off your current debt as fast as possible.

It’s unlikely that your income can deal with regular repayments on its own. If you’re struggling with personal finance, it may be time to consider a cheap personal loan.

If you have a good credit score, this won’t be too much of a problem. However, if your credit score has taken a hit recently, you might get loans at very high interest rates. In that instance, they simply aren’t worth it.

5. Try to Reduce Credit Card Debt Interest 

One key thing you should try to do is to reduce your credit card debt interest.

How do you do that? Well, try to improve your credit score, learn about all the purchases you’ve made through your card, your current interest rate, and other details, and then call your credit card company and request them to lower your credit card interest rate.

If they agree, great! If not, don’t get disheartened. Ask them the steps you can take to possibly get a different response next time.

Another thing you should definitely consider is to try to pay more than the minimum payment each month. I understand that this might not always be possible with a low income, though.

6. Avoid Borrowing and Consolidation Loans

At this point, you should definitely not be borrowing more money in an attempt to go debt-free.

Try to avoid borrowing as much as possible. It may seem like a lucrative option when it’s right in front of you, but more loans mean more interest, and that’s always problematic if your income is low.

Also, avoid the overly common practice of using consolidation loans to pay off your debts and then attempting to pay back the consolidation loan, since a large loan can come with a huge amount of interest that you might not be able to cope with.

FAQs – Get out of Debt with Low Income