Your team at the Heritage Credit Group all agree: It is time to pay down your credit cards.
Credit card debt is the most difficult to overcome for a couple of reasons, but there is a Simple Fix Formula:
- There is very little to show for cc purchases in most cases. An auto loan is easy to justify because you have the car. But when there is no tangible, which is usually the case with cc debt, it seems easier to neglect.
- Too many consumers use their cards indiscriminately. For eating out, entertainment, etc. Christmas is especially insidious because those who observe it have been trained to buy way beyond their limit to repay. This is when most consumers create uncontrollable cc debt.
- Credit card companies only request a small amount each month. This in turn, keeps the debt alive forever.
- Interest rates on credit cards are among the highest.
- High cc debt prevents ones from moving forward financially.
For all these reasons and more, it is imperative to pay the debt down and start now!
- Work on paying off the highest interest rate card first.
- If all rates are about the same, work on paying down the lowest balance first.
- Double the required payment amount. Example, if $23 is the minimum payment, pay $46. If you can afford more pay more.
- Once that card is paid down, choose the next lowest balance card and begin paying it down.
- Use the $46 you were paying on the card you just paid down and add that same amount to the minimum payment due on the next card.
- Once that card is paid down, use that amount and add to the minimum balance of the next card.
- Of course, never use the card you are paying down. In fact, you may wish to cancel it with the goal of keeping only tree trade lines open.
- In this manner, one by one, you can pay down that credit card debt!