Money management is a balancing act. On one side, you have people who will put even their weekly groceries on credit, and on the other side, you have those who believe everything should be paid for in cash and you shouldn’t accrue any debt. As with most extreme differing opinions, the answer is found somewhere in the middle, where credit and paying-it-forward both find balance and moderation.

Borrowing money can actually be a way to help yourself towards financial freedom when used carefully. When you are borrowing money to afford college tuition or to buy a home, you are investing in your future. Regardless of the reason why you borrowed money, it is always advantageous to pay it back quickly. Included here are a few tips for paying back your loans more quickly.

Pay Above the Minimum

It doesn’t take a math wizard to understand that simply making minimum payments on a loan is going to cost you over time. You are paying exponentially more with interest and you could end up paying your entire life. Simply by adding an extra $20 a month, you can begin to cut down on the life of the loan.

Take a look at your mortgage, for example. Most homeowners with a mortgage will end up paying the bank double the price of their home over a 30-year loan life due to the high amount of interest. By even making one extra mortgage payment a year, you can cut your loan life from 30 years down to 26. You will save tens of thousands of dollars on interest as well as have the peace of mind owning a home outright will bring.

Consolidate

The purpose of consolidating your loans is to bring them altogether into one monthly payment. While this may not apply with mortgages, you can consolidate credit card debt, personal loans and student loans. Consolidating can give you a lower minimum monthly payment and lower your interest rates.

Apply Extra Cash

Have you ever gotten birthday money? What about an inheritance, lottery winning or tax refund? All of these income streams are considered cash windfall. A cash windfall occurs when you receive money you were not otherwise counting on. Instead of spending this money, it should be applied towards your debts. This will help alleviate the pressure of debt sooner and put you on firmer financial footing.

Look For Forgiveness

The irs forgiveness program has proven to be very helpful for people who have a base minimum income of $100,000 or have suffered a loss of 25% in their income. Consulting tax resolution firms like Clean Slate Tax LLC and similar others could prove beneficial for audit cases that are covered under the program.

In the case of student loans, there are often many opportunities to work toward loan forgiveness.For example, if you have outstanding student loan debt on a teaching degree, you could consider working for a company like “Teach for America.” By seeking a job for a company like that, the employer may actually pay off your student loans in exchange for a few years of work commitment with their company.