Again, this formula isn't just about paying off debt faster and saving money on interest — it's also about reducing your risk. Banks and other financial institutions tell you to pay off debts that lessen their risk while increasing yours. For instance, they may encourage you to go with a 15 year loan. This locks you into a higher payment and increases your home equity. The more equity you have, the greater the incentive for the bank to foreclose. In addition, you would have less money to build your savings when forced to make higher payments.

Do not directly pay down loans that keep you in the same payment (as opposed to loans for which the payment reduces as you pay them down). Rather, save the money you would have paid on the loan balance in a separate account until you have enough to pay off the loan in full. In those types of loans, you're worsening your Cash Flow Index with every payment. It doesn't give you immediate benefit and it increases your risk by reducing your liquidity.

To make this concrete, if you have a 15 year mortgage, consider refinancing to a 30 year loan. Instead of paying extra to the bank, which increases your risk in the pay-down period, save those extra payments in an extra account. You'll have the money to pay off your mortgage in fifteen years by getting greater tax deductions and earning interest on your side account with the difference between payments. Also, as stated earlier, this improves your debt-to-income ratio, which helps your credit score.

Get to the Roots

As I explain in my book, Killing Sacred Cows, without a fundamental change in consciousness regarding debt, none of these strategies will work long-term. Identify and solve the root causes of debt, rather than hacking at the by products (interest and bondage). Before you employ these techniques, ask yourself questions like these:

• Why did I incur each of my debts? Was my desire to consume or to produce?
• When I've incurred debt, how did I justify it?
• Do I seek consolation in material things? If so, what could replace the feelings I receive from borrowing to purchase material things?
• Was my debt caused by gambling — putting money into things I didn't understand and couldn't control? If so, what can I learn from this and how can I be wiser in the future?

Getting — and staying — out of debt requires a fundamental shift in outlook and behavior. You must change who you are, then what you do flows from that change. Debt can come from bad relationships, faulty philosophies and slow course corrections in business, such as not firing under performers quickly enough, not executing on purchased programs, etc. If you're struggling with debt, focus on creating value for others and eliminating destructive relationships, expenses and distractions. Never not borrow to consume. Use cash for luxuries and only borrow for productive assets and resources or necessities.

Increase Your Production and Cash Flow

Most debt-reduction systems train people to cut back. This limited thinking leads to eliminating productive expenses like hiring key employees, implementing marketing programs, etc. It often distracts you from your firm's mission and shrinks your vision. Ultimately, the best way to get out of debt is to increase your productivity and cash flow. I recommend that you take the money you're currently paying extra to loans and use it instead to improve something you're certain will increase the productivity of your business. This could include hiring a new employee, executing a new marketing campaign, developing a critical skill, purchasing new technology that would generate new revenues and/or increase retention, etc.

In other words, find ways to provide more value because dollars follow value. Analyze your business and identify the best ways to serve at a deeper level. Consider the following questions as you strive to increase your productivity:

• How can you hire people and create processes and procedures to stop doing the things that drain your energy?
• Where do you need to release control and replace your physical involvement with processes and procedures?
• To double your profits, what things would you have to stop doing today? What things would you have to start doing that you're not currently doing?
• How can you leverage your vision (to inspire and build a team) versus increasing your personal labor?
• What things could you do in your business that are the highest and best use of your time, and would produce the greatest long-term ripple effect?

Now, with the increased profit in your business, attack the loan with the lowest Cash Flow Index. This will give you more resources and allow your dollars to stay in motion, rather than going directly to debt. To recap, debt elimination isn't simply a matter of prioritizing the order in which you should pay off loans. It's not just about saving money on interest. The wise and sustainable way to do it is to reduce your risk and create more safety throughout the process. Not only will you become debt-free more quickly, but you'll also enjoy greater peace of mind.

Garrett Gunderson is a financial advocate to chiropractors and the author of the best-selling book Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying Your Prosperity. Get a free hardcover copy at www.freebookforchiros.com or by calling (877) 389-6547.