CRUSHING DEBT: Pay off those credit cards in quick fashion
Posted By: Matt in Credit on 03/13/2014 at 09:28:08
What is the best kind of credit card debt·
The answer is simple: the kind that doesn't exist. But realistically, you most likely have anywhere from a little to a heaping helping of credit card debt that you simply want to get rid of at any cost.
How you amassed the credit card debt is quite irrelevant at the moment, whether you lost your job and needed to dip into using them to stay afloat or if you simply made bad, untimely or irrational purchases for items you didn't need, the debt is there regardless.
Before you headed down the road of abusing your credit cards, you would have ultimately wanted to look at your budget and make changes to how you're spending money at the time, rather than just live off your credit cards as a "source" of income.
Getting rid of it in a timely fashion stands as the problem at hand, and one that you want to dispose of rather quickly.
But climbing out of debt isn't always an expedited process and often can take more than just a few months or years. Declaring bankruptcy would be a last resort and implementing a debt consolidation agency is a push, meaning it doesn't help but won't hurt you, either. In that case, those credit cards put under the consolidation umbrella will become nonexistent.
Your best bet and the one action you want to eliminate altogether is to stop using the credit cards in question completely. That may seem incredibly obvious but you'd be surprised how many people who claim to be struggling with credit card debt still use the cards consistently.
How is that going to help you pay off that debt·
In short, if you're only paying the monthly minimum and still charging at will, you're essentially keeping your balance the same, once you factor in a realistic interest rate attached to the card. Some consumers who have credit woes go as far as to cut or shred the cards, so the temptation is completely gone. A less drastic measure might be to simply store the cards out of sight and out of mind, meaning they are nowhere near your purse or wallet.
And if your credit card debt extends to more than just one card, you'd be wise to start on the card with the highest interest rate. Plenty of people with debt have the best intentions but fail to come up with a game plan that tackles the biggest problem first and foremost.
Paying down those higher balances and subsequent rates in addition to altering your use of the cards themselves won't solve your issues overnight, but might make your days living with debt a little easier to endure.
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