For today (Day 17 of 31 Days to a Better Bank Balance) we’re going to go beyond Getting Off the Debt Merry-Go-Round by choosing our primary target for debt reduction.

Why are we choosing one single target for debt reduction?

Well, have you ever tried to accomplish 10 things at once? What usually happens? Speaking from experience, I can tell you that none of them get done — at least not very quickly. When you’ve got too much to do, you get overwhelmed and discouraged, and stuff falls by the wayside. Sometimes it even gets worse.

But when you focus on just one thing, you make visible progress. And chances are you’ll make that progress pretty quickly too.

Now of course, I’m not suggesting that you pick one debt to focus on and ignore all the rest. You should make the minimum payments on all of your debts. But don’t send more than the minimum payment to a debt unless it’s your primary target.

Target that ONE selected debt with all you’ve got. Go crazy with that debt. Work extra hours, take on an extra job or start a (free!) side business, sell the stuff you’ve got laying around the house, call and see if you can get the interest rate reduced, etc.

You could even hang a copy of that debt up in the bulls-eye of a target if you want, and throw dart after dart at it. Er, I mean, send payment after payment to it.

Send in every dime you can to that one debt until it’s gone, and you’ll wipe it out much faster than you would have believed possible. Once it’s gone, you’ll feel really good, and you’ll be ready to attack the next debt in your list with an even greater vengeance.

So, what debt will you be targeting?

(Hint: pick the one that you’d most love to see gone, or that has the lowest balance.)