Start The Fight Against Credit Card Debt
Credit Card debt is something that weighs heavily on many of us. Our 20’s were all about spending, consuming, and having a good time. Unfortunately, if you leaned on credit cards to subsidize the good times, you may now need to worry about paying for it in your 30’s.
We would much rather be thinking about buying houses, making investments, or taking vacations, but if you have credit card debt, those things need to be shelved for now. Your number one priority has to be paying off your credit cards.
Here are a few things you can do to get started:
1) Call your credit card company and try to negotiate a better interest rate – This may or may not be successful, but it’s worth a try. Credit card call center employees do have some limited ability to lower your rates, so ask nicely and you may get a lower rate. Lending standards have changed and times are tight for everyone, but banks do have wiggle room and they would rather lower your rate than have you consolidate with another company.
Note: The better your credit is, the better chance you have of getting a significant reduction.
2)Create a budget – Without a budget, your chances of paying off the financial wreckage of your 20’s is highly unlikely. It will take a dedicated, sustained effort that is not always going to be fun. You should be spending money on necessities like, like rent and groceries, and then use what is left over to pay your credit cards. Eating out and buying new jeans should not considered necessities. Spend what you have to spend to stay alive – the rest should go to your credit cards.
3)Pay!
It is a good idea to go after the card with the lowest balance fist. Not only will this completely get rid of one of your credit card balances, but you will feel rewarded sooner and be encouraged to keep going on your higher balance cards.
The key is, you have to pay more than the minimum monthly payments. Those payments are designed to keep you paying the most interest, for the longest amount of time. It can be hard to come up with the money, but it must be done at all costs.
The budget and plan you use should be tailored for your particular situation. There are many tools out there to help you create a budget and plan for getting out of credit card debt. These tools are great, but it is your fortitude that will make any of them successful
Useful Tools:
Credit Card Debt Calculator
Excel Credit Card Debt Template
Another Excel Credit Card Debt Template
This was meant to be an introduction to paying off your credit cards – A little something to get you thinking in that direction. Once you are ready to seriously embark on this mission, I suggest you spend some time scouring the web, researching your options, and reading everything you can.
Read part 2 of this series on Kicking The Debt Cycle
