If you have decided to take control of your financial life and finally live within your budget, there are a few ways resources you can use to find out how to pay off debt quickly. First of all you should use a  pay off debt calculator. Be prepared for a shock. If you have accumulated a lot of debt, this step could be terrifying.

Once you have run your current possible numbers with a debt payoff calculator, try running it with higher payments to get to the number of months you were hoping it would take, to pay off your debt. Now calculate the difference between the payment for your preferred pay off time and the one you can currently afford. That is the monthly amount of money you have to find from other sources. So here are you choices:

- Get a second job

This may not sound enticing, but you got yourself into this mess, so you have to work yourself back out of it. Is it realistic for you to get a second job that pays enough for you to make the extra income you need to cover the increased payment?

- Cut your expenses

Look at the way you spend your money. Are there expenses that are really not necessities? If you think about it, there are few things, people actually need. Food and shelter are the basics. If you cannot walk to work, you will need to pay for your transportation. Think about using public transportation or car pooling. Everything else is optional. Do you buy a drink at Starbucks every day you go to work? That could be $100 per month right there. Do you smoke? Cut down and save that money. You get the idea. Nothing is off limits. Cut the frills first, though.

- Get loans to pay off debt

If you have a lot of credit card debt, it may be beneficial to consolidate your outstanding balances into a single loan. This is particularly true if you have only been paying the minimum amount due. You likely have a high interest rate on your credit card balances, which could be reduced with a consolidation loan.

Remember, the idea is to pay off debt fast. In order for this to work, you will need to make changes to your lifestyle. No one is going to hand you a ‘Get out of Debt Fast’ pass. If you seriously want to pay off credit card debt, consider using all three of the above methods at once.

Getting a consolidation loan, should be the last option you consider, bec.ause loans are always affiliated with fees and you will still owe the same amount of money after you consolidate. It only makes sense if your interest rate drops significantly. If you use a consolidation loan, make sure you do not reduce the amount of money you pay towards the loan from what you are paying now to pay on the different debts you have. Remember, the idea is to get out of debt. So if your payments would be less with the consolidation loan, make sure you can pay the loan off faster without penalties, and then pay the money you saved in interest towards the principal balance of your loan.

Now you know how much extra money it will take every month in order to pay off your debt in the amount of time, you were hoping to. Get out your worksheet and start figuring out how you will get that amount.