I paid off £31.5k debt in 18 months using my ‘ICE’ method – create lists and call the bank for a starter
A WOMAN has revealed that she paid off £31,500 of debt in just 18 months, thanks to her super simple method.
Nicole Victoria, who is now a money coach, explained that her ‘ICE’ method enabled her to pay the money back - and fast.
Posting on social media, Nicole shared her top tips and tricks for those looking to save their money and pay back their debts.
She explained that creating lists is important and you’ll need to call the bank if you want to cut costs.
Not only this, but she shared that side hustles and decluttering can help in the process and literally freezing your card is an essential step too.
Sharing her advice online, Nicole said: “I hope this gets out to the right person today because this is seriously going to change your life.
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“How to save money on your debt and pay it off faster. Here's how you're going to hack the system and stop making credit card companies rich.
“The average American has $6k [£4.7k] in credit card debt, and that means at 24.99% you're paying $124 [£97] a month just in interest.
“I paid off $40k [£31.5k] debt in 18 months using my strategy called the ICE Debt Repayment Method. Here are the steps to saving money and paying your debt off faster.
“Step one is illuminate. We want to shed light on exactly what debts we have, what the minimum payment is, and when the due dates are.
“We're going to list out our debts from the highest interest rate to the lowest, and put more money towards the highest interest rates first while still making the minimum payments on the others. This will result in the biggest savings.”
Secondly, Nicole stressed the importance of cutting costs where possible, as she advised: “Step two - cut costs. This is where we're going to work on lowering the amount of interest we have to pay to get those debts gone faster and save more money.
“Start by calling your credit card companies and asking for them to reduce your rate.
“You can say something like ‘Hi, I've been a loyal customer for x years. I have an opportunity to go with another card with a lower rate, but I'd hate for this to have to drive me away from your service. How can you help me with this?’
“If you don't get a yes, the next step is to start researching balance transfer cards. This is a special credit card that allows you to transfer your debt from another lender, and gives you 0% interest for a set period of time, usually between six-18 months.
“They'll charge you a fee to move the debt, usually three to five per cent of the amount you're transferring, so it's really important to do the math and make sure you'll save more in interest charges with 0% interest than you'd pay in the transfer fee.
“You'll want to make sure you can pay this debt off before the promotional rate ends, or the interest will jump back up.”
The three steps is all about extra earnings, as Nicole continued: “Step three - earn. This is where you're going to find ways to make more money to put towards your debt - an extra shift, a side hustle, or even selling things around your house that are of value but just cluttering your space.
“While you're doing this you're going to put your credit card on ice, literally. Take a zip lock bag, fill it with water, put your card inside and stick it in the freezer.
"Delete the numbers out of your phone and computer. This way you put time between you and self sabotage while you're paying it off.”
Not only this, but Nicole explained that it’s important that you familiarise yourself with how you got into debt in the first place, as she concluded: “The last step to this is making sure you've addressed the underlying reason why you're in debt in the first place, or this will just become a vicious cycle - is it because you keep running into emergencies and don't have the cash?
“Start building up an emergency fund. Is it because you're impulse shopping? Start a journal of all the times you're tempted to shop and find the pattern - start a list of things you want to buy which will give your brain the dopamine hit it's searching for because it releases dopamine in anticipation of a purchase.
“Is it because you're lacking financial literacy or haven't healed your relationship with money? Start journalling on your money beliefs, breaking down one's that no longer serve you.”
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @nobudgetbabe, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up a whopping 115,500 views.
Social media users were thankful for Nicole’s advice and were eager to express this in the comments.
One person said: “Thank you for this! Just found your page, trying to pay off this student loan debt while it's deferred.”
Another added: “The ice idea is genius.”
A third commented: “This was extremely helpful. Thank you! Glad you landed on my FYP.”
Meanwhile, someone else posted: “Lots of good tips.”
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At the same time, another TikTok user shared: “Just started doing this! It feels so good to have a $0 balance credit card again!”
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