How to Pay Off Debt While Still Saving: 6 Steps to Success

It hit me in the checkout line at Costco. I was loading a cart that looked like I was feeding a small army — soccer snacks, printer ink, and enough paper towels to wrap the moon — when my phone buzzed with two reminders: the monthly payment on our business startup loan and the “set aside for college” auto-transfer. One drained today’s cash; the other felt like stealing from tomorrow. I stood there, kid tugging at my sleeve for a free sample, wondering why it always seemed like a choice between crushing debt or building a safety net.

Turns out it isn’t a choice at all. With a few simple moves, and a system that automates the discipline, you can pay down debt and grow savings side by side. 

Here are six steps that let you chip away at yesterday while funding tomorrow, without sacrificing tonight’s family pizza night.

Step 1: Get clear on where you stand

Start by seeing the whole board. Add up every dollar coming in, list every bill going out, note each loan balance, and check how much you already have stashed away. 

Most people try to piece that picture together by jumping between bank sites and credit card apps or by copying numbers into a spreadsheet that’s out of date by tomorrow afternoon.

Open Quicken Simplifi instead and link your accounts once. The app pulls new transactions the moment they post, lines up your balances next to your debts, and adds upcoming bills to a single dashboard. You don’t type, hunt, or guess — the numbers simply appear, always current. 

With that real-time snapshot on your phone, you know exactly where you stand and can move on to the next step with zero blind spots.

Step 2: Build a mini emergency fund

Picture the moment the fridge groans to a stop or the dog swallows a sock — stress spikes, and the credit card feels like the only lifeline. That’s why you build a small cushion before tackling the debt mountain. Even $500 to $1,000 shields you from those left-field hits and keeps you from undoing hard-won progress with one unexpected swipe. 

Quicken Simplifi makes building that cushion simple. Just set up an “Emergency Fund” goal and choose how much you want to contribute each month. The app tracks your progress in real time, shows exactly when you’ll hit your goal, and lets you make adjustments as life changes. And when you need to dip into the fund, Simplifi helps you stay on track by showing how much you’ll need to top it back up.

No extra bank account, no mental math, just a visible, growing safety net while you focus on knocking down the bigger balances.

Step 3: Choose a debt payoff strategy that works for you

Pick one payoff game plan and stick to it. If high interest rates make you itch, use the avalanche method: tackle the priciest balance first while you keep minimums on the rest. If quick wins motivate you, go snowball — wipe out the smallest balance, then roll that payment into the next smallest. Prefer one clean payment? Consolidate and aim every extra dollar at that single loan. What matters is clear focus: hit one target hard, meet every minimum elsewhere, repeat.

Quicken Simplifi keeps your plan on track before things go off course. Link each credit card and loan, and your balances stay updated in one clear view. The Spending Plan shows exactly how much you can pay toward debt today without shortchanging the rest of your budget. Bill reminders arrive before due dates, and proactive alerts help you stay ahead of potential late payments, so interest charges and missed deadlines don’t derail your progress.

With the strategy set and Simplifi tracking the details, you can watch one balance fall after another without juggling dates or second-guessing the next move.

Step 4: Create a smart spending plan

Knowing exactly where your money goes each month is half the battle. Start by listing every fixed bill — rent, insurance, software — and estimating the flex costs like groceries or gas. Once you see what’s spoken for, you can decide how much can flow to savings or debt without starving the day-to-day.

Use Quicken Simplifi and the heavy lifting disappears. The app pulls in each new charge or deposit, tags it to the right category, and funnels your income into four buckets: fixed costs, savings goals, debt payments, and everything else. A live safe-to-spend number updates with every swipe, so you always know how much breathing room is left before the month ends. 

No late-night spreadsheets, no surprise shortfalls, just a clear spending plan that runs itself in real time.

Step 5: Automate everything you can

Life gets busy — client calls run long, kids need rides, and the bill you meant to pay slips your mind on the drive home. Consistency beats willpower, so put as much of your money routine on autopilot as possible. Schedule credit card payments, loan drafts, and transfers to savings for the same day every month, then let Quicken Simplifi watch the gears turn. 

The app confirms each automated payment as it posts and flashes a heads-up if a bill is coming due, a balance runs low, or a big charge hits your card. 

You still control the plan, but Simplifi handles the timing, and taps you on the shoulder only when something needs your attention.

Step 6: Watch your progress (and adjust as needed)

Big changes stick when you can see them. Check in once a week, or at least every month, to see how much debt has fallen and how your savings stack is growing. When the charts tilt the right way, celebrate; when life throws a curveball, tweak the plan before it derails you. 

Quicken Simplifi makes those check-ins easy. Open the dashboard and watch your balances, goals, and spending patterns update in real time. Filter the view by month, category, or account to spot new trends, and let Simplifi’s alerts flag anything unusual, like a sudden spike in expenses, so you can course-correct fast. 

Instead of guessing where you stand, you’ll know, adjust, and keep moving forward.

You don’t have to choose — you can do both

Last winter, our minivan coughed its last breath on the freeway, right after I’d made an extra payment on our student loan. Ten minutes of panic turned into a moment of proof: I opened Simplifi, shifted a slice of the emergency fund to cover a tow, and the loan payment still stuck. No backslide, no new debt, just the plan doing its job.

That’s the point. Paying off debt and growing savings aren’t rival missions; they’re a tag-team. The six steps you just walked through — seeing the full picture, building a cushion, picking a payoff method, running a spending plan, automating the routine, and checking the scoreboard — work together the same way brakes and gas keep a car moving safely down the road. 

With Simplifi automating the math and surfacing the signals, you’re free to steer: celebrate each balance that hits zero, watch the savings line climb, and know you’re moving forward on both fronts, even when life tosses a flat tire your way.