Money·3 min read

You Can’t Ignore Credit Card Debt Forever—Here’s Where to Start

A woman looking at her credit card bill
Design: theSkimm | Photo: iStock
July 14, 2022

Racking up credit card debt is like getting a crack in your phone screen. The longer you ignore it, the worse it gets. (Thanks, double-digit interest rates.) And working around it is no way to live.

I guess I should get started then. 

Agreed. Start by writing down your financial stats, like monthly take-home pay, regular expenses, and any savings. Then make a list of all your credit card balances and interest rates. Use your credit card and bank statements as cheatsheets if you don’t have these numbers memorized.

Sounds depressing.

Seeing everything in black and white can be overwhelming. But the whole ‘getting out of debt’ thing will go much better if you have a plan. Trust.

Once you have it all laid out, review your monthly income, debts, and expenses. If you don’t have a budget yet, now’s a good time to make one. This can help you see where to cut back and put more money toward your debt. Psst...your food budget is one of the easiest places to trim. Bye, daily Door Dash deliveries.

Does it matter which credit cards I pay off first?

Not really. Pick the strategy you’re most likely to stick with.

If you make to-do lists just to cross things off, you might like the snowball method. That’s when you pay off your smallest balance first. Then the second-smallest, and so on. A lot of experts like this approach because knocking out entire balances can build motivation to keep going until all your debt is gone.

If ‘efficiency’ is your middle name, you might prefer the avalanche method. That’s when you focus on paying the balance attached to the highest interest rate first. This saves you more money over time because you’ll pay less in interest.

Anything else I should know about paying off credit card debt?

Just a few more tips for staying on top of credit card debt:

  • Don’t write checks you can’t cash. An oldie but a goodie. Because you shouldn’t be buying anything you can’t afford. Especially while you’re trying to pay off debt. If it helps, use cash to cover anything on your ‘wants’ list to make sure you won’t overspend.

  • Drop it low. You may be able to lower your interest rate by opening a balance-transfer credit card, consolidating with a personal loan, or calling your card issuer and asking nicely. Seriously. Read more about those options here.

  • Put it on auto-pilot. Scheduling automatic credit card payments means you’ll never get hit with a late fee. Just make sure there’s always enough in your checking account to cover the payment.

  • Avoid the upgrade. Lifestyle inflation (aka spending more when you get more) is real. If you get a raise, bonus, or tax return, treat yo’self with something small. Then put the rest toward your debt.

theSkimm

Credit cards are all about buying now and paying later. Make that ‘later’ now by coming up with a solid plan, so you can move on to doing bigger and better things with your money. Like building an emergency fund, investing, buying a home, sending your puppy to kindergarten...the choice is yours.

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