Make a Payment Rates About Careers Contact Locations

How to Pay Off Debt Faster

Try these tips to reduce your debt and restore your motivation to save.  

1. Make biweekly payments

One popular strategy for accelerating debt repayment is to make biweekly payments every two weeks, each totaling half your monthly payment. An important note: this method will result in you making 26 payments each year, which is two more than you would make if you made a payment on the first day of the month and the middle of the month, so you will have to budget accordingly. The advantage is that you will reduce your amount owed at a faster rate and, thus, save on interest. Plus, a biweekly schedule can alleviate cash-flow concerns by distributing smaller payments more evenly throughout the month. Use our to see what your repayment schedule would look like.

2. Pay off loans with the highest interest rates first 

As a general rule, paying down debts with the highest interest rates should be your first priority. With this strategy, you’ll pay off debt faster and with less total interest in the long run. To make this happen, you can make the minimum payment on your other, lower-interest accounts. Then, once the loan with the highest interest rate is paid off, you apply the minimum monthly payment you would have spent on that loan to the loan with the next highest interest rate, and so on until you reach the end of the line and you’re debt free. Woot!

3. Alternatively, prioritize loans with the smallest total balance

Another repayment strategy you could try is the . The idea behind the debt snowball method is that you repay loans with the smallest total balance first and then redistribute the money you would have spent on those payments to your other, larger loans. Eliminating smaller debts quickly helps you stay motivated to continue paying off bigger debts and, if done properly, can lead to a faster repayment period and less total interest paid overall.

4. Pay it off in a lump sum

If you’re lucky enough to be starting the year with a nice bonus check burning a hole in your pocket, consider making one large payment toward your debt, be it a mortgage, auto loan or credit card debt. When you pay off debt, you are receiving a guaranteed return on your money – the amount of interest you would otherwise be paying on any outstanding balance. You’ll also want to keep this in mind for your tax return in April!Need help deciding how to make it happen? , and we'll help you figure out a debt repayment strategy that makes sense for your situation – whatever it may be. You might also be interested in Debt from the holidays putting a damper on your new year? Or maybe loan payments are holding you back from pursuing bigger financial goals... Here are some tips on how to prioritize your debts and bills, negotiate with creditors and get your late payments back on solid ground... It’s not every day that someone gives you hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of dollars for (seemingly) no reason. That’s what makes getting a tax return... Like to save money? We thought so! And here’s a way to save big that you might not know about: pay a little extra on your mortgage each year. In fact... We should all be budgeting our money, no matter what our financial goals. Time to get that brand new car? Down payment on your first house? What about...
Featured Products Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Financial Education Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts About Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Help & Support Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch
Please read the following before proceeding to: The website you are about to visit is solely the responsibility of the merchant or other party providing the site. The content of this third-party site, including materials and information, is solely the responsibility of the provider of the site. The Credit Union is not responsible for any such third-party content. Any transactions that you enter into with a vendor, merchant or other party that you access through this third-party site are solely between you and that vendor, merchant or other party. The Credit Union does not endorse the content contained in this third-party site, nor the organization publishing the site, and hereby disclaims any responsibility for such content. The Credit Union Privacy Policy does not apply to this third-party site, and for further information you should consult the privacy disclosures of the third-party site.
NCUA Insurance Estimator Privacy, Security & Accessibility Rates Terms and Fees Routing Number
* The Wisconsin's #1 Mortgage Lender designation is based on the number of loans in 2023, gathered from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data compiled annually by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The results of the data were obtained through the LEI: 254900NTAC4H10MGSU23 ** SBA Lender of the Year Award for Credit Unions as awarded by the Small Business Administration of Wisconsin in 2024. Copyright 2025 © Summit Credit Union. All rights reserved. If you are using a screen reader and are having problems using this website, please call 608-243-5000 for assistance. Insured by NCUA