How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

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Pay it off before even touching the other debt. Repeat until all debts are cleared. The sense of satisfaction you will feel in making fewer and fewer payments each month will make the process more bearable and help you achieve your goal.

How to Pay Off Debt: 6 Strategies That Work

Talk to your credit card companies. Explain your financial situation and ask if there is anything they can do to help. While some credit card companies don't care about customer loyalty, more than a few do. Those that do sometimes go to great lengths to keep their customer base happy and loyal, whatever the circumstances. If at first you don't succeed, ask someone more important. If you can't make any headway with the first persons you speak with, ask to speak to a supervisor. If that doesn't work, ask to speak to the retention department.

10 Tips for Paying Off Credit Card Debt

If that doesn't work, call back in a week or two. Be sure to compile a list of other offers you recieve. Know your interest rate terms. Check out the rates that competitors are offering. Never close cards with existing balances. It might seem like an easy way to get a handle on your debt, but it'll do horrors to your credit score, and you'll still be on the hook for the debt.

Learn more here on how to increase your credit score. If you feel like you must close an account, you need to pay it off extremely quickly, and you need to make sure that the company records that it was closed at your request and not theirs. Make this request in writing. Move your debts around. However, barely chipping away at your debt because your interest is too high will damage your finances in the long-term. Shop around for long-term, low- or no-percent interest rate transfer opportunities, or look into transferring some of your debt onto a low-interest card that you already have.

Keep the following in mind: The amount of the transfer fee. When transferring, you usually have to pay a certain percentage of your debt up-front.

10 Tips for Paying Off Credit Card Debt

Make sure that a you can afford this transfer fee and b the fee is less than you would have paid in interest during the introductory period. Usually, transferring to a low-interest card will involve less fees than transferring to a no-interest card. Weigh how much time you expect it will take to make a dent in your debt when choosing to transfer. If it does, will you have paid off enough debt by that time to make that jump worth your while? How long you will be required to keep your balance with the company.

Since credit-card hopping has become a popular way to avoid paying interest, some companies have begun stipulating that if you transfer your debt to another card before a certain amount of time has passed, the normal interest rate will be applied to all your previous balances retroactively, leaving you with a huge new debt. Credit card companies are nothing if not resourceful in finding ways to take your money.

Look for all the catches above and more, such as transfer fees and ballooning interest rates, before making any decisions.

See what you can liquidate to lower your debt. No one likes doing it, but sometimes it needs to be done. If you just bought a car, a memory foam mattress, or a new jacuzzi, think seriously about whether you really need these items, especially if you're paying for them on installment. Liquidating your big-ticket items now will mean less financial hardship for you later on. Always try to find the sales venue that will get you the highest resale value. Think eBay and jewelers, not pawn shops. Get creative and do the math.

For example, if you have a car payment, if you can sell your car even for less than the note is worth for enough to pay off a card balance or three with higher interest rates and perhaps pay off the interest on the car note, then it makes financial sense to do that. This is especially true if you use a credit or debit card people tend to spend more freely if they pay with plastic or pay for things using multiple accounts and therefore never really see the net total.

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Develop a budget for yourself. Instead, create a strategy, put it in writing, and budget your other expenses around your credit card payments. Here are some popular ways to save money and reduce your debts: Think seriously about starting to save pocket money. It sounds childish, but the savings are anything but. See if you qualify for food assistance. It's not glamorous, but neither is being broke.

Spend your tax refund wisely. For a lot of people, a tax refund is a windfall at the beginning of the year. If you anticipate getting a tax refund this year, resolve to set a sizable chunk of it aside in order to pay off some of your debt. Sacrifice a small luxury or three. Don't buy lunches for work; just make them at your home.

This is like paying off one credit card using another card. This fits well with the avalanche method, since you can use a balance transfer to strategically reduce the interest rate on your highest-interest debt. That can buy you time to focus on the next-highest interest account, and reduce the total interest you pay. Save some money by checking out our picks for the best balance transfer cards. While paying off credit card debt outright is usually the smartest financial strategy, it can sometimes seem overwhelming.

In situations where you have several different cards and statements, and due dates , paying them off with a personal loan can be a good idea. That being said, taking out a loan to pay off credit card debt can be dangerous. Follow the terms of the loan carefully, or you could just make your situation worse. If you have outstanding debts to pay and can make a large one-time payment, settlement might be the right option for you. Debt settlement is a negotiation in which a creditor, like a credit card company or collections agency, agrees to accept a partial payment rather than the full balance.

You may, however, have to pay taxes on the forgiven amount. If you choose to engage in debt settlement, you should do extensive research to avoid scammers and exorbitant fees. You should only use it as a last resort, however, because it can devastate your credit. Before considering bankruptcy, you must seek credit counseling.

5 things you need to do once your balance transfer is complete:

But by using the strategies above, you can eventually free yourself from the shackles of debt. UltraFICO is a new credit scoring model set to take effect in , giving consumers the ability to add financial information that may boost their scores. How do you calculate your annual income for credit card applications? And do you have to tell the truth? Here's everything you need to know. Looking for a no credit check credit card that also offers instant approval? Here are our recommendations — plus why you should proceed with caution. We promise never to sell, rent, or otherwise solicit your personal information, ever.

In more ways than one, debt can be a four-letter word. The first step is to create a debt payoff plan. Make the minimum payment on all of your accounts.

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Always pay the monthly minimum required payment for each account. Put any extra money toward the account with the highest interest rate: