Today, I have a guest post featured on Tub of Cash. Below is a snippet, but please click on over to read the whole post.
I have encountered many people who believe that credit cards are evil. Even when I argue the benefits of credit cards, such as online protection online, extended warranties, and cash back rewards, I can never convince them. So now, I just stay quiet and nod. That’s because I’ve found that a majority of people do not know how to utilize credit cards correctly. According to the latest figures, the average millennial has more than $5,800 in debt. Inevitably, the conversation swings towards how much debt the person currently carries and whether I have a strategy to help them get out. So, I put together eleven steps to help people get out of credit card debt.
1. Make the decision to stop going into debt.
It may sound obvious, but this is, by far, the hardest step. Deciding that you will no longer use credit cards to live beyond your means is difficult, especially when you face peer pressure to go out and have fun with your friends. While it may be difficult in the short-term, I can assure in the long-term, you will be much better off and grateful for making this decision.
2. Figure out exactly how much credit card debt you have.
When I hear, “I have around $2,000 in credit card debt”, I always ask for the exact amount. That’s because most times, people don’t actually know the true figure. Instead, they just estimate. In my experience, the estimates are usually way too low. Once you figure out your exact debt amount, you can determine your target number to pay down each month. Make sure in your debt figure that you include your interest rate on every card that you owe a balance on.
This information can also be easily retrieved by utilizing Personal Capital. This service aggregates all of your accounts to show your outstanding balance, credit card limit, as well as your interest rate.
Good point aboit knowing exactly how much credit card debt you have. When we started paying off our debt i wrote the exact amounts down. I asked the wife how much card x is. She said around 2k when figuring out exact number it was 3.8k i was blown away. Ahh well they are gone now.
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Congrats on getting rid of the debt. That’s such a great feeling!!!
Like you said, it’s also super important (and difficult!) to stop getting into debt. I think that decision, once you really make it, then makes the rest of the steps a bit easier. But until you really commit to not going into any more debt, the rest is almost impossible.
Thanks for stopping by Laurie!!! If you aren’t truly committed to getting out of debt than it’s pretty futile to try 🙂
Thanks to online banking it is so easy to pay something towards your credit card in just a few seconds. I always pay AT LEAST once a month, sometimes twice because I like to have everything paid at the end of the month.
I definitely agree it’s super easy to pay towards your credit card each month now a days with online banking. It has definitely been a game changer to make things way easier 🙂
You mentioned tracking your expenses but if you have credit card debt you need to cut most expenses. Paying around 25% interest will ruin your finances. You need to stop all discretionary spending (restaurants, alcohol, vacations, entertainment, new clothes, etc). Does that sound extreme? Good, it should because 25% interest is extreme too. Once the credit cards are paid off you need to reevaluate your normal expenses to make sure you don’t get in credit card debt again in the future.
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Great points Jeff!!! 25% is crazy and if you’re paying that much it’s time to tighten up the belt and cut down to the bare bones which includes discretionary spending.
Those are some great tips. Calling your lender to get lower rates won’t always work. When I had credit card debt, I tried that twice. I was denied both times.
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Thanks for sharing Jason!!! That stinks that it didn’t work. I’ve heard from a couple of people it worked out but clearly that’s not the case all the time.