By Evelyn Waugh
Edited by Samuel MountjoyHow to Gamify Debt Payoff to Make It Fun
Quick Answer
You can gamify your debt payoff by creating a plan, coming up with visuals that help you see your goals, rewarding your progress and using other strategies alongside gamification, such as debt consolidation or the debt snowball method.
If you're determined to pay down high-interest debt but struggle to stay motivated and committed to making regular payments above the minimum, gamification may be able to help.
You can make paying off debt fun by using gamification tactics, such as setting clear, attainable goals and rewarding yourself for small wins. Gamifying your debt payoff goal can help you stay motivated and have a little fun in the process. Here's how to use gamification to pay off debt, plus what to watch out for along the way.
Why Should You Gamify Paying Off Debt?
Gamifying your debt payoff can be incentivizing because it adds excitement to a process that can otherwise feel pretty dull. Gamification adds game-like elements, such as levels, missions, achievements and rewards, to everyday tasks.
Some research suggests that the dopamine hit you get when you accomplish a goal can be very motivating. But it's harder to experience that motivation when you're working slowly toward a far-off goal, such as paying off debt.
To make these future-oriented habits stick, you need to reinforce the fact that you're accomplishing something in the moment. By adding game-like qualities to your goal, you can stay focused on your goal and even have some fun.
How to Gamify Your Debt Payoff
Turning debt repayment into a game can help you stay motivated to pay off debt faster, which can save you money in interest over time.
1. Take Inventory of All Your Debt
Before you can gamify debt repayment, you'll need to take inventory of all the debt you owe. Make a list of all your debts, including:
- Credit cards
- Personal loans
- Car loans
- Student loans
For each debt, list the balance, interest rate and the minimum payment due each month.
Understanding what you owe is the crucial first step in managing your debt. Since you're turning debt repayment into a game, consider listing and analyzing your debt your first achievement unlocked.
Learn more: How Can I Find All My Debt?
2. Set Small Goals
After you've created a list of your debts, break your repayment plan down into small, achievable goals. Your goals could include making larger debt payments, not incurring any additional debt or both.
Aim to set goals that are big enough to make a meaningful impact on your debt, but not so large that you get overwhelmed.
Example: You could choose to break down your repayment plan into $100 goal increments. Or, it might make sense to break your debt into 25% increment goals. How these small goals are measured will inform the timeline of your long-term debt repayment strategy.
Learn more: How to Set Financial Goals
3. Reward Your Progress
Now for the fun part: After you've set up your repayment goal milestones, assign rewards for each "level."
One of the best parts about gamification is that the satisfaction of playing the game is a reward in itself. For some, simply creating a debt repayment flow chart and ticking off various "levels" as you stick to your goals is rewarding enough.
If you need more motivation, it can also be effective to assign rewards to various milestones in your debt payoff journey. Pick low-cost treats that feel luxurious, like buying your favorite ice cream or binge-watching your favorite series.
Learn more: Ways to Treat Yourself Without Breaking Your Budget
4. Use Visuals
Adding a visual component to debt payoff is vital for harnessing the motivating aspects of games. That way, you'll be able to watch your progress towards your goal.
You can access many free, printable graphs online to chart your debt repayment course. Some printables feature sections you'll fill in whenever you pay a certain amount toward your debt.
A simple Excel spreadsheet with cells for various debt milestones works too. Highlight the cells as you make progress towards your goal, such as by making a debt payment or by completing a "no-spend" day.
Tip: There are apps that can gamify your payoff for you, complete with game-like visuals. Habitica lets you gamify anything, including sticking with your debt repayment goals. Fortune City lets you build a city by recording your spending. Try tracking your payments to your debtors, for example, and watch your buildings grow.
5. Try Debt Payoff Strategies
Gamification can incentivize making extra payments toward high-interest debt, but you'll still need to decide the order in which to pay your debts down. Here are two tried-and-true payoff strategies for getting out of debt:
- Debt avalanche method: Prioritize paying off the debt with the highest APR, while still making the minimum payments on other debt.
- Debt snowball method: Prioritize paying off the debt with the smallest balance, regardless of interest rate, while still making the minimum payments on other debt.
Both methods have their pros and cons. The debt avalanche method may save you more money in interest over time, whereas the snowball strategy offers the motivation of seeing your smaller debts get quickly eliminated.
Learn more: Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche Method
6. Consider Debt Consolidation
Alongside the strategies for staying motivated listed above, consolidation could be a way to make paying off debt more efficient and affordable. If you have good credit, you could use a debt consolidation loan to fold multiple high-interest debts into one lower-interest balance.
Just be aware that consolidation can have drawbacks, including the risk of falling deeper into debt if you can't resist the urge to use your old credit cards.
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Risks of Gamifying Debt Payoff
Gamification can help you stay motivated toward paying off debt, but keep these pitfalls in mind:
- Overspending: Gamification uses rewards to incentivize paying down debt, which could lead to overspending if you treat yourself every time you make progress. Use small rewards to motivate yourself without overspending.
- Unrealistic expectations: If money is tight and you're currently struggling to afford the minimum payments on your credit card, personal loan or other debts, gamifying your debt may not be enough to dig yourself out. Consider reaching out to a credit counselor for more help.
- Lack of real change: Gamification is a fun way to get on track, but be sure you also dig into the root cause of your debt. Look into building a budget to avoid new debt, for example.
The Bottom Line
Paying off high-interest debt is an important step toward financial health. As you work toward getting out of debt, be sure to monitor your credit. You can watch your efforts pay off over time, plus get unique insights into ways you could further improve your credit score.
You could also quickly raise your credit score using Experian Boost®ø. Experian Boost is a free feature that connects to your bank account to give you credit for the eligible, on-time bill payments you already make. For example, your utility, streaming or phone bills could go toward improving your FICO® ScoreΘ.
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About the author
Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh is a personal finance writer covering credit, budgeting, saving and debt at Experian. She has reported on finance, real estate and consumer trends for a range of online and print publications.
Read more from Evelyn