Repayment
The order to repay debts in, and why people argue about it
Highest rate first costs least. Smallest balance first gets finished more often. Both beat paying minimums.
Repayment
Getting out of debt: order, rates, consolidation and what actually works.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
Repayment
Balance transfers work until the promotional period ends
A transfer is a tool for clearing debt on a schedule, not a way of making it cheaper indefinitely.
More in Repayment
Repayment
What to do first when the payments stop being affordable
The order matters. Priority debts have consequences that credit card arrears do not.
Repayment
Consolidation moves debt; it does not reduce it
One payment instead of five feels like progress. Whether it is depends on the rate, the term and what happens to the cleared…
Repayment
What a default actually is, and the months before it
A default is a formal step with notice requirements, and the period leading up to it is when your options are widest.
Repayment
Debt collectors, debt purchasers and who owns your debt now
A letter from a company you have never dealt with usually means one of two very different things, and the difference decides what…
Repayment
Old debts can stop being enforceable, and what restarts the clock
Limitation rules put a time limit on court action for many consumer debts, and an unwary payment or acknowledgement can reset it.
Repayment
An interest freeze changes the arithmetic more than a lower payment
When creditors agree concessions, the one that determines whether the debt ever clears is whether charges stop.
Repayment
Debt management plans: what they do and what they cost
An informal arrangement across all your creditors can be genuinely useful, and paying a company to arrange it usually is not.
Repayment
How to build a repayment plan you will actually finish
Most repayment plans fail for behavioural reasons rather than arithmetic ones, and the fixes are mechanical rather than…
Repayment
Free debt advice and how to tell it from the paid kind
The services that charge and the services that do not offer substantially the same solutions, and the difference is who pays for…
Repayment
When to use savings to clear debt, and when not to
Holding cash while paying interest on a balance usually costs money, and emptying the account entirely usually costs more.