How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt When Money Is Tight
When you want to get out from debt you know that you have to make more than minimum payments. But how can you pay off credit card debt when money is tight?
Ideally you would want to pay off the debt all off at once to avoid the interest that prolongs the repayment process and leave you paying more than you borrowed originally. If your income is not what you’d like it to be, you may be struggling to make payments on time. That said, here are a few suggestions of making the most of the income you do have.
First of all, you must stop adding to the debt you already have. Stop using the cards; this may be difficult if charging is a way of life. Make the commitment to use your credit card only in the case of a genuine emergency, perhaps a household or car repair that is otherwise unavoidable and not covered by insurance. Avoid the temptation of buying a lot of items on sale thinking you are saving money; remember once you add up all the interest charges you are paying much more than you saved.
So as you know, minimum payments are not going to get you out of debt anytime soon unless you owe very little. But if your balances are ranging into the thousands or even tens of thousands, you must be more aggressive.
Be consistent in paying more than the minimum; even if it’s just an extra fifteen or twenty dollars, it helps you to tackle the principle, and not just pay the interest.
You may also want to consider rolling your debt a credit card with a lower interest rate. Again, resist the temptation to then use the credit cards whose balances you have cleared to run up more debt. The synergistic combination of a lower interest rate and the constant monthly payments that exceed the minimum due will begin to make inroads into your debt.
For additional tips, see:
YouTube
How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt When Money Is Tight