It started with a guitar, and turned into a $20K debt: How I paid it off in 8 steps

The article is not new. People's debt payoff journeys are highlighted in this series. In this month's edition, Kenley Young talks about how he was able to wipe out credit card debt with the help of a lot of tools.

I paid off my credit card debt in the first week of the new year, a long time in the making.

It wasn't an easy success. The summer of 2016 was when I started attacking my debt. It felt like I had exhausted every trick in the book when I zeroed out my balances.

It became clear to me that extreme frugality alone wasn't enough.

I think I should have been able to avoid this because I work at NerdWallet.

I know a lot more about avoiding credit card debt now than I did five years ago.

The tools that made the most difference were the ones I used to attack my debt.

My debt journey began in the earlyaughts with an expensive guitar. It wasn't hard to rationalize travel, furniture, rounds of drinks, whatever once I justified that purchase.

Guinness and guitars are not separate things. The house arrived. A ring. There is a honeymoon. A dog is sick and the vet has to pay for it. The cross country move is for a new job. Rent in LA. Two kids. Day care invoices.

I had no savings or emergency fund, so I used credit cards. There was a lot of debt in the city.

How I dug out

I might have found myself driving the streets of West LA searching for aluminum cans to turn in for pennies. I realized that extreme frugality alone wasn't enough. There were some steps I took from there.

1. Moving to a cheaper state

In the summer of 2016 my family and I moved from Los Angeles, one of the most expensive cities in the world, to Columbia, South Carolina, a city that is one of the cheapest in the country.

I need to acknowledge my privilege and the fact that it is not possible for everyone to leave town. It can be difficult to uproot yourself. The move itself cost thousands of dollars, and we lost my wife's $40,000 salary. Liquidating the life insurance policy paid for it.

It made sense for a long time. I got a new job that made me work from home. We had a place to land despite the net loss.

We are from South Carolina and our families are here. The villagers helped us get on our feet. We lived rent-free with my family for the first eight months. Not all people have a safety net.

We are paying a mortgage now that we have our own home. Our LA rent is $1,000 more expensive than it is here. The biggest change was the savings on housing costs.

There are 5 best and most affordable places to live in California.

2. Using balance transfer credit cards

One of the most important weapons in my credit card debt-zapping arsenal was... another credit card.

Balance transfers for 21 months had a zero introductory rate. I moved a lot of money to the new card so that I wouldn't have to pay interest on the old one. I used it many times with card offers.

Balance transfer credit cards have some things to say about them.

• You’ll usually need at least good credit (scores of 690 or higher) to get one. Even though I had significant debt, I’d never missed a payment and had a long credit history. Thus my credit scores were in good shape.
• You can transfer balances only up to the new card’s credit limit, and you usually won’t know what that is until you’ve applied.
• You’ll typically owe a fee, often 3% to 5% of the transferred balance. So “parking” debt on these cards — letting it sit there without paying it off until interest resumes — is counterproductive.

If you are concerned about inflation, Suze Orman says to do this now.

3. Taking on side gigs

I was a musician in a rock band. I continued to play live music even though we broke up. I used to have a lot of the gear I now use.

On a good night, tips can add an extra $75 or so to my haul, and I usually pay $150 to $200 for a solo acoustic gig. Patrons who don't have cash can use Venmo to give me a five-spot.

I will book 2 to 4 gig in a good month. I used to put money toward my debt and now drop into a high-yield online savings account.

After all, the guitar wasn't such a bad investment.

4. Putting windfalls to work

Tax refunds and Christmas gifts are included. It was thrown at my debt.

As a parent and homeowner, it's important to prioritize windfalls so they don't go to waste. Getting out of debt was the most important thing I had.

5. Renegotiating bills

I paid off my car loan after I paid off my mortgage twice in the last year. Each month, that saved us some money.

Smaller cuts made a difference. We found cheaper home and auto insurance, got a better deal on our cellphones, and stopped using monthly services.

I want to take out a 30-year mortgage, but pay it off in seven years. Is that doable?

6. Paying with cash-back credit cards

Credit cards helped me get into this situation. I knew that using cards strategically would benefit me.

I was able to get a rewards credit card because of my good credit. I used the rewards to help pay down my debt after I paid off my new card.

7. Using cash-back websites and apps

Double-dipping is when you use a rewards credit card on a cash-back website to get both the card and the rewards.

When I shop online, TopCashback and Rakuten are my favorites, but I always check the Cashback Monitor aggregation site to make sure I get the best rates.

MyPoints is a website that allows you to redeem points for money by taking surveys or taking pictures of receipts. I submit my receipts to a number of cash-back apps, including Ibotta, Fetch and Upside.

You can round up purchases to the nearest dollar and put the difference into an account with the app called Qoins. At the end of the month, Qoins mails your balance to your debt collector.

As Americans cope with inflation, personal savings are being drained. People are having to make difficult decisions.

8. Selling unwanted items

It's a tried and true way to make quick cash. There is a place to sell things on. I focused on popular and high-margin items, mainly electronics and musical equipment, but also children's toys and bikes.

It wasn't just merchandise. I received a gift card many times during the holiday season. My main thought was "If only I could liquidate this thing."

You can sell unwanted gift cards for cash on many online exchanges.

There are three expert tips for successful yard sales.

So now what?

I no longer have credit card debt and can focus on other things. My wife and I have started budgeting. Goals for travel, home improvement, investing and saving are being set.

Sometimes our discussions are hard. Talking about debt isn't usually a topic of discussion. It was easier for me to be honest with myself about my debt.

NerdWallet has more information.

Kenley Young is a writer. KYoung@nerdwallet.com is the email address. kenley Young has a verified account on the social networking site.