The current US personal debt, including mortgages, has reached $14 trillion, with a total annual income of $19.68 trillion. That works out to a median household yearly income of $79,900 with total debt of $145,000. So is there a magic formula for paying off debt? The answer is yes, but how each household approaches this will vary, depending on the details of their interest rates, duration of loans, income, other expenses, opportunities for relief, credit available, and level of debt.