Debt is a leash someone else is holding. The less you owe, the farther you can walk.

Money owed converts into obligation, and obligation narrows the choices you can afford to make. A job gets harder to leave, a city harder to change, a bad arrangement harder to end. The size of the number matters less than what it does to your options.

Look at what you owe and pick the smallest one to clear completely rather than spreading effort evenly. Finishing one changes the picture more than it changes the total. Before adding another, ask what it will cost you in room to move.