6 Helpful Strategies For Managing Credit Card Debt That Work
In the second financial quarter of 2019, consumer debt in the United States was close to $14 trillion. That marked the 20th consecutive quarter for an increase in American debt. That debt included approximately $1 trillion in credit card debt, which is on the rise along with mortgage, auto and student loan debt. Increased spending is a sign of a strong economy and healthy job market, but it may also mean that many consumers are living beyond their means by spending credit rather than cash.
If managing credit card debt has become a struggle for you, we have some tips that will help you avoid the most common debt mistakes for individual consumers. The first step is to stop spending on credit cards. Cut them up, freeze them or hide them if necessary. Once the spending is stopped, use some of the following strategies to improve your financial standing in the months to come.
1. Transfer Credit Card Debt to Secure a Lower Interest Rate
The higher your interest rates, the harder it is to pay off credit card debt. If you have multiple cards with high rates, it may feel impossible to pay the debt down. Before you fall behind on payments or dedicate too much of your budget to credit card payments, consider one of these options for securing credit card debt relief quickly:
- Consolidate your credit card debt into one convenient loan with a more reasonable interest rate.
- Secure a personal loan and use the cash to pay off your credit cards with high interest rates.
- Transfer debt from high-interest cards to credit cards with lower interest rates. Pay attention to the transfer fees to make sure the receiving card will really save you money.
You may need a good to excellent credit score and adequate income to make this strategy for managing credit card debt work. There are many lenders willing to extend lines of credit or personal loans to people with low credit scores or flawed credit reports, but your goal is to secure a credit card, consolidation loan or personal loan with a lower interest rate than your current credit cards.
If you have a lot of credit card debt, transferring it all to lower-interest cards or loans probably won’t work. You can still use this strategy to lower the interest rate on the cards that are costing you the most in interest.
2. Select a Prioritization Plan That Makes Managing Credit Card Debt Less Stressful
A debt management plan allows you to organize your credit card debt so you have a systemized approach to repayment. That takes the guesswork out of determining how much to pay on each card every month because you will always have a specific goal that you’re trying to reach.
The foundation of a debt management plan is a system that puts your list of credit cards in prioritized order. Start by listing every credit card you have along with their balances. You can then select one of these plans to get that debt organized and start managing credit card debt without constant stress. Just make sure you’re not charging the cards back up as you pay them off because that will keep you trapped under the weight of credit card debt forever.
Snowball Method
Dave Ramsey is well known for educating consumers on the snowball method. You list your credit card debt from the smallest to highest balance. You pay the minimum balance due on every card while paying as much toward the debt at the top of the list as possible. Once the smallest debt is eliminated, you move on to the next.
The advantage to this method of debt elimination is the ability to clear small debts quickly. That may boost your confidence and get you motivated to continue managing credit card debt responsibly. The downside is that you will eventually have only your highest balances remaining, and some of those may also represent your credit cards with the highest interest rates. Interest rates aren’t considered when organizing debt with this system.
Avalanche Method
The debt avalanche method is the reverse of the snowball method but it considers interest rates rather than balances. Your prioritized list should start with the credit cards with the highest interest rates, allowing your lowest rated cards to fall to the bottom. You pay the minimum payment required for all cards every month while paying as much as possible to the card at the top of the list.
The advantage to this method is you knock out your highest interest rates first. The more you pay those cards down, the more money you save in interest fees every month. Some of your smallest balances may have the highest interest rates as well, which gives you the psychological boost that comes with the snowball method. Other than that, balances aren’t taken into consideration with this credit card elimination method.
Tsunami Method
If you work with a professional, they will likely have a preference between the snowball and avalanche methods. What many will not tell you is that there’s a third option, and it’s known as the tsunami method. According to Time magazine, what’s important is that you “…find a repayment plan that you’ll stick to until the debt is gone.” If you can’t keep up with the snowball or avalanche methods consistently, then they won’t help with managing credit card debt.
The tsunami method takes reality into account and acknowledges that consumers who can’t stick to those methods should have the option of personalizing their debt management plan. This method allows you to prioritize your debts based on their psychological weight.
Which credit cards stress you out the most and weigh heaviest on your mind? Place those at the top of your prioritized list. The ones that aren’t as much of a concern will fall to the bottom. You still make minimum payments on all credit cards, but those that cause you the most stress should receive the largest payment possible every month until they’re eliminated.
3. Automate Your Monthly Credit Card Payments With a Little Extra Added
Most credit cards don’t give you a grace period for monthly payments. If you’re even one day late, they can charge you a fee of $30 or more. If you’re late often enough, those fees could cause your debt to grow rather than shrink. You can avoid that by using the autopay feature for each of your credit cards.
That means your credit cards will automatically deduct from your bank balance on their due dates. You don’t want to replace credit card fees with bank fees, so your job is to make sure that you have the money available to cover those deductions.
If your automatic payments are equal to your minimum amount due, you will manage your credit card debt and avoid fees. If you can set those autopayments to include a little extra each month, you can pay your debt down faster.
If you chose a prioritized debt management plan listed above, you can set higher payments to automatically deduct for the card currently at the top of your prioritized list while limiting all others to the minimum payment due. Adding extra payments to that target card each month will put you ahead even more.
4. Negotiate With Your Credit Card Lenders
Have you tried calling a credit card company and requesting a lower interest rate? What about discussing lower monthly payments? Many credit card companies will work with you when they see you’re serious about managing credit card debt responsibly.
You don’t need to be behind on payments to receive these concessions. In fact, your lender is more likely to give you a good deal if your account is in good standing and your record shows you’re a good credit customer. They don’t want to lose your business, so it’s in their best interest to make their credit cards as convenient as possible for you. They also stand to lose money if you fall behind in payments.
5. Eliminate Unnecessary Spending to Shift More Money to Your Credit Card Debt
This is one of the most effective tips for managing credit card debt, but it’s not what most people want to hear. You want to keep your daily lattes, nights out on the town and other little luxuries that make life more satisfying. You also want to eliminate some of your credit card debt or at least make sure it’s not stressing you out when you sober up from that coffee rush or trip down to the bar.
You don’t have to cut out every bit of fun or pleasure in your life, but you do need to make some sacrifices in order to free up more money to make managing credit card debt possible. This is where you ask yourself how important it is to start cutting down your debt. The more it means to you, the more likely you are to follow through with budget cuts to reach your goals.
There are many ways to make this happen, so choose the options that are most reasonable for your lifestyle and financial goals.
If you’re living paycheck to paycheck and don’t have a budget or plan that guides your spending every day, now is the time to make one. Start by listing your monthly expenses, including food, gas and any entertainment subscriptions. Subtract that from your monthly income to see how much extra money you have right now. Your goal is to increase that final number by cutting out or reducing some of those listed expenses.
Compare rates online for your television and internet services. You may also find that you can get cheaper rates for auto insurance and homeowner’s insurance if you compare quotes online. If you really want to challenge yourself, take it a step further by switching to a streaming service like Hulu and cutting off your cable bill entirely. Spend some time looking at quotes and prices online to see where you can save without making your life unbearably boring.
Eliminate impulse buys by limiting your time in stores. If you don’t need to walk into a store for an essential item, simply don’t go. Do you know you’re going to walk out with more than you need when you go into certain stores? (Target, anyone?) Start shopping elsewhere to eliminate those extra buys. You may also save money by ordering your groceries online and picking them up curbside at the store. Even if there’s a fee for that service, it’s likely less than you would spend on impulse buys while grocery shopping. Your waistline will likely improve along with your budget.
Introduce spend-free days into your weekly routine. What if you decided that you weren’t going to spend even a penny on Wednesdays and Sundays? Expand that to three or four days, and you could save even more money. Many people never go one day without spending money at convenience stores, coffee shops and restaurants. Challenge yourself to stop spending on certain days of the week, and you could alter your mindset to eliminate expenses you previously thought you couldn’t live without.
Look through your bank account and write down every automated expense or subscription service. We’re talking about the small charges for things like Pandora and Kindle Unlimited that come out every month automatically. It’s easy to forget about those expenses even if you don’t use the service regularly. If you don’t use them enough to justify the expense, shut them off.
As you free up money in your budget, make sure you’re putting those newfound savings to your credit card debt. You won’t move forward financially if you free up a little and then increase your spending. More free money simply means you can pay a bit more toward your target credit card that month.
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6. Increase Your Income and Use the Extra to Pay Extra on Your Credit Card Bills
Should your goal of managing credit card debt really require you to work more? If you’re struggling to meet minimum monthly payments on all of your cards while still paying your household bills and financing other responsibilities, then adding another stream of income is necessary. You may also choose to work a little more now so you can get out of debt and start saving for a more prosperous retirement.
How do you increase your income? We have some ideas, but you may also have other opportunities if you think creatively.
Take advantage of seasonal jobs. When the holiday season rolls around, most retail stores hire seasonal employees to help with the Christmas shoppers. Halloween costume stores pop up in many medium to large cities in the fall. Ice cream shops and food trucks may also hire seasonally, and some communities have large ballfields and stadiums that need help during game season.
Sell services or products online. Have you considered making jewelry or selling framed prints of your artwork on Etsy? Think about your skills and how you can leverage them for a side income online. Everything from personal essays and memoirs to editing, cartooning and photography skills are highly valued in the virtual gig economy today.
Enlist your services in your local gig economy. Gigs aren’t just found online today. There are services like Wag that allow you to walk dogs in your hometown for extra cash. Driving for Uber or Lyft is another option. You may even sign up for a nanny or childcare service that allows you to babysit for local parents. Tutoring kids in math or reading is another option, and you may even help high school seniors write essays for college admissions, internship applications or scholarships. Just make sure you’re not doing the writing for them. Consulting and guidance are key when it comes to academic assistance services.
Turn a passion or hobby into a side income. If you’re an expert on makeup, start making tutorial videos and loading them on YouTube. Get your personal training certification and start working out with paying clients rather than sweating it out alone all the time. Start a paid walking club that helps your neighbors lose weight and enjoy the company of good people in the great outdoors. Whatever you enjoy doing or learning about, there are ways to turn it into a money-making opportunity with a little creative thinking and determination.
Planning to Eliminate Credit Card Debt
Now that you’ve learned six new strategies for managing credit card debt, it’s time to pick at least one that might work for you. The more you focus on eliminating debt, the faster you’re likely to get your credit cards under control and start working toward a lifestyle that is debt free and less stressful.
If you still have questions about credit card debt or want to learn more about your options for managing credit card debt, check out our services. We can help you find reputable consolidation or personal loan lenders as well as lower interest credit cards.