---
type: "Topics"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/43141723.md"
description: "The most important step in the first step of investing is cruel and simple.Before investing a single dollar, eliminate your highest-interest debt—credit cards and Huabei bills. If you only make minimum monthly payments, compound interest can reach up to 24%. You pay and pay, but your balance barely moves. This is a trap. Debt also compounds against you, working to your disadvantage, so you need to escape what is devouring you.Once you finally pay off your loans, your income effectively decreases immediately if it no longer goes toward salary payments; this counts as a 变相 raise (indirect raise).Paying off 24% debt is equivalent to earning a 24% return.No investment on Earth can reliably outperform the high interest rates of credit cards."
datetime: "2026-08-02T09:24:22.000Z"
locales:
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/43141723.md)
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/43141723.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/43141723.md)
author: "[浩浩荡荡地](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/19784218.md)"
---

# The most important step in the first step of inves…