4 Ways to Get Rid of Credit Card Debt Quickly
By Sarah Lucy Smith
Mar 12, 2010
Credit card debt is a common problem in this country. Almost everyone makes use of this plastic card for everyday expenses. While there is nothing wrong with using your credit card, the problem lies in the fact that most of the time people lose track of their expenses when using plastic money. When this happens, debt can accumulate and pile up beyond what a person can manage to pay comfortably. The result is knee-deep credit card debt.
Fortunately, credit card debt is a problem that can be resolved. With efficient financial strategies and strong willpower, you can be on your way in eliminating all the credit card debts that are taking a toll in your financial health. Here are some effective ways to get rid of credit card debt.
1. Stop using your credit cards. The most frank, no nonsense advice you would ever get
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Examine your finances comprehensively. Set a budget. Lower your standard of living. Spend less, save more. All of these things can help you stop using your plastic money.
2. Consider credit card debt consolidation. Consolidating your credit card debt or to put it simply to move a balance from one card to another with the lowest interest rate, can be a quick-fix solution to your credit card debt. This would make your debt more manageable and affordable. For further information regarding this strategy, check online resources for reliable debt consolidation help and advice.
3. Make double payments. Paying only the minimum payment is financial suicide according to financial experts. Making double payments to hit the principle of the debt should be your target so you can see the balance gradually drop. To do this more effectively, list down each of your credit cards including information such as outstanding balance, interest rate, and minimum
Once you pay off the lowest balance owning, add that payment to the minimum payment of the next lowest balance. For instance, if you were paying $300 a month on your last balance, and you are paying $66 on your newest lowest balance, then start paying $366 on your newest lowest balance. That 's $300 more than you were paying, and it will increase the speed at which you pay off that
Dave’s second step is to pay off all of your debt. His method for this is called the debt snowball effect. You list every debt you have in order from smallest to largest, leaving out your mortgage. And you pay off the smallest debt first, once that is paid you take what you were paying towards that debt, and apply it to the next debt, and so on. This is exactly what the church advises us to do in the One for the Money Guide to Family Finance written by Elder Marvin J. Aston, in the debt elimination calendar. I believe that is probably one of the fastest ways to get out of debt
Start the debt snowball by paying minimums on all of your debts except the smallest one. Place any extra money to that smallest debt. This will make that debt paid off much quicker.
This way, you will not build up a large debt and easily be able to pay all your dues. Another thing to note, credit card bills have a minimum sum to pay along with the overall outstanding amount. If you are unable to pay off the total amount you owe, it makes sense to keep paying the minimum amount due until then. 5. What is the difference between a'smart' and a'smart'?
Credit card debt is one of this nation’s leading internal problems. When credit was first introduced, and up until around the late 1970’s, the standards for getting a credit card were very high. The bar got lowered and lowered to where, eventually, an 18 year-old college student with almost no income and nothing to base a credit score on previously could obtain a credit card (much like myself). The national credit card debt for families residing in the United States alone is in the trillions (Maxed Out). The average American family has around $9,000 in debt, and pays around $1,3000 a year on interest payments (Maxed Out). Many people have the concern today that these interest rates and fees are skyrocketing; and many do not understand why. Most of these people have to try to avoid harassing collecting agents from different agencies, which takes an emotional and psychological toll on them. While a lot of the newly recognized “risky” people (those with a doubted ability to make sufficient payments) are actually older people who have been customers of certain companies for decades, the credit card companies are actually consciously targeting a different, much more vulnerable group of people: college students. James Scurlock produced a documentary called Maxed Out on this growing problem, in which Senator Jack Reed of (Democrat) of Rhode Island emphasizes the targeting of college students in the Consumer Credit Hearings of 2005
I. Main Point 2: It is important to pay your credit card balance off every month. If you do
(Ramsey 108). Making sacrifices with your money now, will make your hole of debt that much less. The less you have to worry about debt, is the more you can focus on you. Around 30% of student loan borrowers have dropped out of college and have to continue paying the debt with just a high school graduate salary.
It seems odd that so many people say that they their credit card debt is nothing they worry about. When people have been filing bankruptcy more and more. In 1991, the rate of 25 years and under that filed for as rose to 50%. Maybe this has to do with so many Universities and Colleges allowing banks and credit card companies to hound financial uneducated students on campuses with promises of a free calling card or hopes of winning a plasma TV for their dorm room.
There’s a lot more to being in debt aside from the fact that you owe more than you currently own. In addition to having balances that you need to pay, you also have to deal with calls from collectors or reminders that the bill is overdue — every single day. This alone is enough of a nuisance to make one want to run away from the debt and forget about it. Fortunately, there are ways to solve the problem of debt. One of these is debt settlement.
Within the class we use lessons from a man called Dave Ramsey who knows how to eliminate and stay out of debt. He has helped thousands of individuals and even started his own “university”, known as Financial Peace University, it’s a course to help ensure financial greatness in one’s future. If I apply lessons that I have learned and will learn from this, then perhaps I will be capable of having a stable financial future. One of the convictions he holds is that you should avoid credit cards entirely because they are a financial black hole. I find his view to be a tad extreme, yet it is founded upon solid principles and facts. Credit cards can very easily deceive one into debt. Some of the other ideas I’ve learned from consumer math include always having an emergency fund and putting money away for your future. While it is often tempting to spend the money left at the end of the month, it is very short sighted and provides little or no benefit for the
The first solution to limit debt for a student is working and saving while attending school. Another solution includes attending a community college instead of,or before, a university. As a final solution, applying for scholarships can limit or diminish the amount of money needed to borrow, therefore, decreasing future debt. To start, one considerable solution to help with student debt is working and saving.
The debt will never get cleared up if charges keep appearing on the bill, and even when purchases stop the debt is normally so extensive it takes months if not years to pay off and it can completely plummet a credit score. Also, “College students who are unprepared for financial decision making may make risky decisions such as compulsive spending and debt accumulation. Financial stress impacts both academic achievement and retention.”Stores will try and get many to sign up for their cards and they do this by offering deals. The more cards owned, the more available to spend, which will lead right back into debt. However, a good idea to stay ahead is to pay as much off as much as possible each month. It does not have to be paid in full, but try to at least pay more than the minimum. Debt is all over the world, it 's not just with college students, but with older people as well but college students need to know what debt is good debt and when their limit is before they are drowning in
After one month of tracking my income, I have learned a little more about my spending habits. I am already aware of most of my spending habits, and where I most often slip up. A little on the background of my spending, I rarely use cash. There are two reasons why I do this; the first reason is so that I am not tempted to spend bits of money here and there on snacks and small things. The other reason is that so I can more effectively track my spending with less effort. I have two checking accounts to keep this balanced since on the statements it does not say what the money is specifically spent on. I use one card on essentials and school needs, and the other account is more of a lifestyle account. Although I have done this financial tracking in the past, I was able to reaffirm that I still have some areas of weakness in my spending.
You have a choice of paying by cash, debit card, online account or credit card. If you do not have money in your bank or online accounts, then either you go without, or you use your credit card. But, what about the people who have money in their bank account and still use their credit card.
In conclusion, the best way to manage your money is to keep a budget and record all your transaction to see where your money is going. Living with a budget isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it can be a great alternative to worrying about how you are going to pay for your expenses. Budgeting allows you to create a spending plan for your money; it ensures that you will always have money for the things that are important to you. Following a budget will also keep you out of debt. If you don’t balance your budget and spend more than you make, you will have financial problems. Many people don’t realize that they spend more than they earn and slowly sink deeper into debt every year.