No one plans to ever be in a sinking hole of debt. It is increasingly hard to stay debt free in this world dominated by virtual and plastic money consequently leading to high costs of living, . The following are practical ways you can try to ease the process of paying off your credit cards and relish your first steps towards being debt free in 2017.
Set a Goal
This is a relatively simple step that requires you to calculate exactly what and who you owe. This will enable you to set up a plan to tackle your card debts in addition to being a major factor in your budget.
Consolidate your credit card debts
Getting out of debt needs you to finally consolidate your card debts into one bill . This will help you eliminate mistakes that result in penalties such as an incorrect amount or late payments.
Stop using your credit cards
Getting out of debt requires you to make sacrifices. One such sacrifice is not using your cards. Get them out of your wallet/purse to avoid the temptation of using them. Pay for goods and services in cash will help you distinguish your essentials from wants. This will help you curb the current debt on your cards.
Formulate a budget
It’s time to be realistic with your expenditures. Ax some of your expenses but don’t force yourself to live on bread and water. An important step to consider is maybe reducing and not completely cutting off .This is an especially relevant factor to remember while coming up with the budget. In addition to the above stated, remember to plan for unexpected expenses. As a result of implementing the above, it will be easy to stick to your credit card repayment plan.
Monitor your payments
Put in place structures that will help you keep track of your credit card payments. This will keep you informed of your progress, and an important bit to remember is that it took you a while to acquire debt, it will also take some time to get out of debt.
Choose a payment strategy
There are three common credit card payments strategies. They are
Paying the required minimum
After sorting out your monthly bills,first of all make the pay the minimum amount requires for cards that offer low-interest rates. And finally leaves you with money to handle payments on the credit cards which have the highest interest rates.
Paying the smaller credit card debts first
This method requires you to completely pay off the card debt that won’t break your bank account . This will give you a temporary buffer to strategize how you will conquer the bigger credit card debt.
Using savings
First of all this is a risky strategy to use. This method involves depleting your savings to cancel your card debts therefore leaving you vulnerable in case of emergencies.
Close accounts and lower your credit card limit
As you pay off your card debts, also close those accounts with your provider. Lowering your credit card limit helps you manage your card debt by giving you access to limited credit card resources.
Get credit help
Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help from your credit card provider. Some might lower your interest rate for an agreed period in addition to waiving some charges so as to give you an opportunity to catch up on your payments.
Sell Your Extra Stuff
To clear your credit card debts you will need an influx of cash to make payments. If you haven’t cleaned out your storage spaces recently, you probably have some stuff sitting around you don’t need. Selling it off could give you an influx of cash to make progress on your debt.
Some of the measures described above are drastic, but they’ll definitely help you manage your unruly debt situation and get you back on your feet financially. What are you waiting for? Get started today!
