Trying to dig out of credit card debt can often feel like treading water.

Although you’re making those payments every month, you still can’t seem to get ahead.

Unfortunately, lots of you grappling with credit card bills thwart your efforts to become debt-free by making a huge financial mistake: even though you barely see your balances budge, you continue to pay off their credit cards with the highest interest rate first, under the assumption that doing so is always the best way to have zero debt.

In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth.

I know this is going to sound like financial heresy to many of you.

After all, every personal finance book you’ve read and every financial expert you’ve heard discuss this subject has said the same thing: pay off high interest rate debt first.

Well, I hate to shock you, but there’s a huge problem with this age-old advice: it doesn’t work for most people.

Even worse, following this well-intentioned but misguided advice could cost you money, damage your credit rating, and put your financial health at risk in unintended ways.

Let me first explain why the oft-heard admonition to focus on your high interest rate debt is wrong-headed.

Then I’ll tell you a better way to prioritize your debts and choose the most effective method way to pay off your credit card bills.

Trust me: when you’re done reading this section, you may have an “Aha” moment about why you haven’t been able to pay down your credit cards bills faster.

Four enormous (and wrong) assumptions about paying off credit card debt

When personal finance gurus advise you to pay off high interest rate debt first, they are making the assumption that:

• the interest rates on your credit card are high
• you are bothered by your credit card interest rates
• this strategy is the fastest route to paying off your debts
• you’ll save the most amount of money by using this technique

These are four enormous assumptions.

Unfortunately, for millions of Americans who are deep in debt, these suppositions are flat-out wrong. Here’s why. Read the rest of this on the Zero Debt Online Course.