Is there such a thing as "painless methods to pay down debt?"

Let me be forthright with the answer here: Yes.

And no.

Okay yes that isn't much of an answer at all and frankly doesn't much help those of us that are trying to figure out, slog through and wrestle with how to pay down debt right now, including myself. And trust me, there is nothing more I want than a 'painless' method to get rid of my outstanding debts.

And I'm not the only one that has asked and wondered at this possibility. A very general survey based on Google indicates that just about every personal finance blogger, website, chat board and advisor have discussed or listed 'easy' methods of paying down your debt. To the point that I won't even link you to any of them because they are utterly ubiquitous on the internet.

This thing that strikes me about these lists are that most of the how-tos of debt repayment are fairly homogenized. The recommendations are generally all the same: make a budget, figure out your earnings and if you need to make more money, know your debt load, figure out how much is the minimums of your debt, figure out how much more you can contribute on top of the minimums towards your debt, pick a payment strategy, and then it is balls to the wall by executing it and now oh look I made my own how-to on how to pay down your debt in as painless a fashion as possible!

The order of the above varies based on who you consult and who you read (and how utterly complicated they want to make the procedure while discussing it) but the end result is basically all the same when you get down to the nitty gritty core of the matter.

And that is where the "Yes" answer comes from. Debt repayment is a pretty simple construct with very little variation as to what method can be considered 'best' in paying it down. Debt repayment is what it is and is supposedly painless in its straight forward nature.

And yet, I and many others would hardly call the process painless all the same. Like those who have never experienced debt in any real measure, a list on the internet can't quantify or measure with any surety the things that makes those of us fall of the wagon or chaff at the restrictions that makes dealing with debt hard on people mentally. They can't tell us how to negate the negative experiences or feelings that comes hand in hand with debt repayment. Things such as deprivation and impatience.

In the same breath, how one deals with those negative feelings is dependent on each individual finding a way to deal with them, because ultimately the only real solution to those negative feelings is distraction. Either distraction from how slowly the months move by on your debt journey or distraction from the fact that you can't go do this or buy that because according to your debt, you bloody well can't afford it.

Yes, you can also focus on the positives such as "watch this debt disappear" and be granted satisfaction from it, but even that in of itself is a distraction; a distraction from the negatives that also plague you at the same time.

So yes and no. There is such a thing as painless debt repayment, but in the same breath, it is not painless. Not unless you earn a generous windfall in the form of the lottery or an inheritance that can cover your wants and your debts all at once, debt repayment is almost never painless to the person paying it down.

But ultimately you will have to try and make the best of it all the same if your goal is to get rid of debt.