Debt Dilemma? 6 Unexpected Tricks to Crush Balances Above $20,000

If you have over $20,000 in debt and growing, it’s completely understandable that you feel like you are in a position where you are drowning. The good news is that you are not alone and that there are steps you can take to try and resolve this debt using some unexpected income opportunities. 

The hope is that if you find yourself in this situation, you recognize a problem exists and that you are committed to bringing this under control. While traditional methods of paying down debt haven’t worked for you in the past, try these tricks and see if they work better. 

The Frosted Credit Card Freeze

In the case of the frosted credit card freeze trick, you are basically doing exactly what this says in that you are “freezing” your credit cards. Using this trick, you will quite literally put your credit cards in a tray of ice and freeze them until your debt is reduced or gone completely. 

The goal is to reduce your discretionary spending while allowing yourself to reset your budget to properly start chipping away at what you owe. For those individuals who owe at least $20,000 in debt, some dramatic steps have to be taken to handle this level of debt, and freezing credit cards certainly qualifies. 

If you need a credit card for an emergency, unfreezing it is as easy as that, but you should keep a record of every use so you can see on paper if you are getting carried away with spending again. 

Community Skill-Barter Workshops

If you have skills that you believe are valuable enough to sell to people, you can barter your expertise for payment. Are you good with computers? Teach a computer class. Can you cook or speak a different language? Teach a group how to cook or a second language. 

No matter what you know how to do, others can exchange it for payment, which can then be transferred to your debt balance. The best thing to do here is to create a curriculum for yourself and others so you have some returning income over time. 

This could take the format of you charging $1,000 for 10 lessons on how to cook various meals. The same goes for 10 lessons on computer skills, general technology, or even teaching the elderly how to use their tablets and smartphones. 

24-Hour Flash Consignment Sales

Another great way to earn extra money is to partner with a local thrift or consignment store to auction off your goods. If you can make something of it, like through your social media audience, you might be able to drive some additional profits. 

This opportunity requires you to dig deep around your home or office and find things you believe are valuable to others. If you can help the thrift store get additional marketing, they might be willing to create a 60/40 or 70/30 split with you to ensure everyone wins. 

In your case, a win would be an opportunity to raise potentially $500, $1,000, or maybe even $2,000 dollars all while the store you are partnering with gets some additional attention. They might even find new customers who stick around to see what else is available and thereby gain some profits, so it’s a good opportunity for all parties involved. 

The Daily Dollar Doubling Jar

This trick is super easy in that you put a jar in the middle of a kitchen counter, and every day, for 15 or 30 days, you put money into it to help pay off your debt. The goal is that you start with $1 on day one, $2 on day two, $4 on day three, and so on. 

This can get pretty expensive fast, so you want to cap yourself to a certain amount. The goal is to dedicate yourself to putting money into this jar specifically for paying off debt. Perhaps you cap it at $500 or $1,000, but it’s a mind game here that you know you will not spend this money on anything other than paying off your debt. 

Once you have completed 15 or 30 days, immediately deposit the money into a bank account and transfer it to a credit card with either the highest balance or the highest interest amount. 

Packaged Freelance Offers

If you have a talent that you believe can create some income for you as a freelancer, then this is your moment to shine. Do you know something about social media, digital marketing, search engine optimization, or something else you can do to help out local businesses? 

Start posting yourself in local Facebook and Nextdoor groups, advertising your services. If your skill is writing, advertise yourself as a freelance writer for X number of years, or someone who has social media experience for 5 years, which can help local businesses gain some additional followers. 

The ultimate goal with this trick is to create and sell packages of your work so you can set up repeat business and drive ongoing revenue. Perhaps you want to start by saying that you will write 10 articles for a local business on their website for $500 a month. When you receive this money, immediately transfer it to one of your debt positions. 

Peer-Backed Crowdfunding Pods

You can start a peer-backed crowdfunding pod if you have a good, maybe even great, group of friends. This is about as unexpected as you can get with paying off your debt, but if it works, your friends are truly incredible people to have in your life. 

This works by assembling a group of five or ten people who each contribute $50 or $100 monthly to one person’s debt. This continues until everyone has chipped away at their own individual debt. While it will take plenty of time to do so if everyone owes at least $20,000, the hope is that you can combine it with one of the other methods. 

Of course, if someone decides they don’t want to participate or one person has a much higher debt number than everyone else, it can create a little bit of a challenge, but it’s definitely one of the more unexpected debt payment methods floating around today.

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