18 Genius (& Kind Of Unhinged) Ways Real People Are Paying Down Their Debt

Consolidating everything into a personal loan, borrowing from your 401K, transferring your credit card balances to a new 0% interest card — there are so many strategies out there for paying down debt, and chances are you’ve looked into all of them and done what you can. Still, paying down your debt takes so long, and sometimes it feels like you’d try just about anything to chip away at the number staring back at you from your banking app.

Well, you’re not the first person to feel that way, and if you’re looking for hacks to pay down debt, the internet is full of ‘em. From genius ways to make saving feel as good as spending to looking around you and seeing what you could sell, here’s how real people have decreased their debt.

Sell what you can.

In response to a TikTok video about unhinged debt reduction hacks, user @millennial30something said she started donating plasma and using the money to pay down her debt.

In response, one commenter said they took on several side hustles, selling just about anything they could. “Collecting cans, flipping furniture & books, currently starting seedlings to sell, contemplating feet stuff, teaching myself how to make digital products to sell, became a notary,” they wrote.

It’s not going to be for everyone, but one TikTok user commented that she acted as a surrogate for another couple, “and made about 80k.” “It was so worth it,” she said. While that’s a pretty extreme example of donating your body for income, apparently there are those who do it.

In a more conventional move, another commenter said they just started baking on the side because they enjoy it, and it helps them make a little extra each month: “I started doing monthly baking and selling it. It’s not millions or even hundreds, but I usually profit $100-$150 (I live in a small area) and it helps with extra payments, and I like baking.” (Paying $100 to your principal amount each month can save you so much in interest and shave years off your debt.)

Another user said they turned to their closet and decided those unworn pieces they never put on were worth more in dollar form. “Sell your clothes that you think you’d wear but don’t! Poshmark or Depop, put all that money towards your cards or savings, whichever makes more sense to you,” they said.

In perhaps the most genius but potentially socially awkward scheme, one TikTok user explained how they put their friends’ unwanted items to good use. “Whenever I visited someone, I would say, ‘Hey, my next stop is Goodwill. Do you have anything you’d like to get rid of?’ If they gave me something halfway decent, I would sell it on Marketplace and use that $$ to pay down debt.”

Make daily deposits.

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This Reddit poster makes a great case for “gamifying saving money” by putting away a little bit each day into savings or paying it toward your debt.

“I set a goal of putting away $55 every day from my tips, even on days I don't work. I set up an Excel chart to track this. I used a basic knowledge of the program to set up formulas tracking my goal, the actual amount saved, and how ‘on track’ I was based off how much money I decided to save for the day,” writes OP. “I have very minimal expenses and make a decent living, but I’m still shocked and proud of myself that I managed to save nearly $1500 in less than a month following this method. The part that really gamified it for me was color coding the 'on track' column to either show red or green based on whether or not I was on par for my goal.”

Another commenter on @marren.saves’ video said that just throwing 10 bucks a day at a credit card bill seemed to help chip away at debt a little each day.

Harness the power of the dopamine hit.

Say you’ve started making your coffee at home in the mornings to save that $7 a day you’d spend on iced coffee en route to work. Well, don’t just sit on that money, Reddit and TikTok users say — pay it to your credit card as you sip your morning beverage from home. “If I got the urge for coffee or takeout, I would immediately pay that amount towards my cc bill,” one TikTok user said.

Then you get the dopamine hit of making the purchase, but you actually put it towards your debt. Because if your iced coffee habit can run your credit card debt up, can’t it also help bring it back down? And, honestly, whatever food you have at home will probably taste better after you put $50 toward your student loan instead (but maybe that’s just me).

If you’re feeling frustrated and maybe a little duped by the system now that you’re in debt, use that feeling to your advantage. That’s what Reddit user polkadotzucchini did. “As for dopamine substitutes for shopping, I now get my dopamine mostly from pursuits that are either a-capitalist or anti-capitalist, frugal lifestyle stuff like making stuff at home, participating in the local Buy Nothing group, and walking/hiking. Sticking it to the man brings me great joy,” they wrote.

Start a side hustle (or treat one income like it).

Remember that one commenter who said they became a notary? That’s a pretty flexible, low-time-investment gig to make a little extra money when you can. Other internet users had more side hustle recs:

• “Literally would work my full time job and then bartend 4 nights a week 6pm-3am, all my bar money went to debt or splurges.”
• “Become a substitute teacher for a school district! You can pick up whatever days work, and/or you can make more if you long-term sub. I paid off almost all of my student loans after one school year of subbing!”
• “Play scratchers. $20 a week and anything u win over $20, set it aside. Sometimes it's $5, sometimes it's a few hundred lol.”

But not everyone has a schedule that allows for a side hustle (or the risk tolerance to play scratch-offs regularly). This setup, one TikTok user recommended, might be more feasible for some: if you live in a two-income household, budget to make ends meet on one partner’s paycheck while you dedicate the other’s to paying off debt.

“Lived only off husband's income, my income for a whole year went straight to paying off my loans,” they wrote.

Change the way you shop.

If you tend to browse the grocery store and leave with way more than you can actually eat, consider doing pick-up orders. “Grocery pick up, or delivery, makes me not spend unnecessary money on extras,” one TikTok user commented on a debt-related video.

Under a post in r/adhdwomen about hacks to pay down debt, Redditor orchidloom shared that they have a self-imposed 48-hour waiting period before buying anything they don’t need:

“Anything unnecessary must sit in the cart for at least 48 hours. And I have screening questions for myself too. I wanted to buy more storage crates recently, but I had to ask myself, do I really need it? Have I used all the crates I have already? No, I haven’t. I think I have 1 or 2 in the garage. So I didn’t buy them.”

Reward yourself (with parameters).

Pretty much any money expert will tell you that surviving on rice and beans and never experiencing joy is not a sustainable way to pay down your debt. Again, orchidloom on Reddit has amazing advice for how to reward yourself without derailing your progress:

“I use a reward fund for myself. That means every $100 or whatever put towards debt, I put $5 into my reward fund. The fund is to be used for travel, a spa day, whatever is worth it. I physically put the money in the reward fund envelope. This is how I still get a dopamine hit for paying off debt,” they wrote.

They also allow for one unnecessary but fun purchase above $50 per month, as long as they have met their payoff goal for the month. “This month was a cool $90 chair for the living room. I will keep looking at it all month online, pick the best one, read reviews, etc. I make it really exciting to window shop and then receive the ONE item after much anticipation.”

Maybe you’re not ready to dupe your friends into giving you their antique china cabinet so you can resell it, but chances are there’s at least one tip here that resonates with you.