3423: What Debt to Pay Off First: A Simple Way to Decide What’s Best by Jackie Beck on Repayment Priorities

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Investing, Self-improvement, Education, Business

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🗓️ 15 January 2026

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3423: Jackie Beck explains why emotions, not logic, are the key to successfully paying off debt. By focusing on the smallest balances or the debts that weigh heaviest emotionally, you’re more likely to build momentum and stay motivated, leading to long-term behavioral change and financial freedom. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.jackiebeck.com/what-debt-to-pay-off-first/ Quotes to ponder: "Put your debts in order from smallest to largest and get rid of the first one as fast as you can." "Logic wasn’t a factor in getting into debt, and it’s not going to be the biggest factor in getting out." "Remember, a huge part of how to get out of debt is changing your behavior for good." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:05.8	What debt to pay off first, a simple way to decide what's best by Jackie Beck of Jackiebeck.com.
1:13.9	Wondering what debt to pay off first? Once you're ready to go beyond just paying minimum payments on
1:19.8	each one, typical reactions are to either try to pay just a little bit more than the minimum to all
1:25.6	of your creditors or try to decide which way
1:28.2	will save you the most money. In other words, we try to figure out what debt to pay off
1:33.2	first based on logic. Unfortunately, that can be complicated, unless you owe the IRS. In that case,
1:39.8	they should probably top your list. Worse, trying to figure out what debt to pay off first based on
1:45.5	logic isn't necessarily effective, because borrowing money is rarely logical. Considerations.
1:53.7	So instead, think about two things in making your decision about what debt to pay off first.
1:59.4	Which debt would be easiest to pay off first, and which
2:02.5	debt would you feel happiest about seeing gone? Easiest is going to be the one with the lowest balance,
2:09.0	simply because there's less of it. Most people who are struggling with debt will do better by paying
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