Pay Off Credit Card Debt and Other Bills with 15 Easy Strategies
Let me start by saying that I’m no financial guru or anything like that. I don’t even have a background in finance. But what I do have is experience. Unfortunately, I have first hand experience with having had bad credit, that was in the 500s. Luckily for me though, I learned from my mistakes as a young lady in her 20s, learned how to pay off credit card debt, other bills, live below my means, and ultimately fix my FICO credit score to more than 750. Now that I have my own family, my husband and I really want to focus on some financial goals we have for the family and dive into how we can pay off credit card debt with a few simple changes. If you’d love to take this journey with us real time, follow me on Instagram and view my stories under the Debt Diet highlight. You’ll find the first things you need to do before hopping into these strategies and learning how to pay off debt.
Use these strategies to help you learn how to pay off credit card debt!
Define your goals and understand where you are.
Start by making a list of 1 year, 3 year, and 5 year goals you want to achieve as a result of paying off credit card debt. Do you want to buy your dream car? Do you have aspirations to be a homeowner? Regardless of what it is, write it down. Next, you need to understand exactly how much credit card debt and other debt you have, along with associated interest rates. This is especially important with credit cards. Write down every single card, the monthly minimum payments, balances owed, and the interest rate for each.
If you want out of credit card debt stop using credit immediately.
This is a no brainer, but if you want to learn how to pay off credit card debt, you’ve got to stop using credit TODAY. Cut up your credit cards, hide them from yourself, shred them, do whatever you need to. Just step away from using credit, period!
Create a budget.
Take a look at your monthly expenses (you and your partner, if applicable) and decide a feasible budget for all of your bills and expenses. Can you dial back on the amount you’re spending on take out? Can you change your cable package or get rid of it all together? See what changes you can make to find a budget that will slice down your costs each month to help you find extra money to put towards your credit card debt. Commit to staying within your budget.
Build a savings fund.
Your first order of business after setting your budget should be to create an emergency savings fund. Many are under the impression that you need a credit card in case of emergencies, but that totally defeats the purpose of making changes to achieve financial freedom. You’ll never learn how to pay off credit card debt if you don’t stop the cycle.
Sell whatever you can.
If you’re anything like me you and or your children have a closet full of clothes, many of which still have the tags on them. This is dollars! You can sell brand new and used clothing on sites such as Poshmark and make a pretty good profit. I’ve used Poshmark for several years and I swear by it because I’ve made some good chunks of change!
Cut out unnecessary subscriptions.
This is a great way to cut down your credit card debt. Do you know how many times I’ve signed up for free trials and totally forgot to cancel the service? I know it can’t just be me! Comb through your expenses and see which subscriptions you haven’t used in the last month. It’s likely if you haven’t used it that you won’t and you should go ahead and cancel it. Cutting unnecessary subscriptions is a great way to save you money each month and give you a means for how to pay off your credit card debt!
Carry cash.
It’s so easy to just pull out the plastic and get to swiping. A few dollars for your morning coffee, a snack from the convenience store at work, and maybe even take out for the night because you’re too tired to cook. I’ve been there and done that! Challenge yourself to take out a specific amount of cash until the next pay period and pay for for your “extras” with that. Not only will you be more conscious of your spending because you’ll see the dollars dwindling, but once it’s gone, it’s gone. You won’t be tempted to swipe your debit or credit card all willy nilly.
Open 2 checking accounts.
ff you have the means, I suggest opening two checking accounts - one for bills and one for “fun” spending. Having a checking account to pay bills and one to use for leisure spending just keep things separate, which is easy. You won’t be confused by how much money you have for spending if a bill hasn’t been paid.
Consider temporarily stopping 401k contributions.
I’m sure you’re scratching your head at this one, but let me explain because this is could be a pretty significant learning for how to pay off debt. If you have credit card debt you likely have some pretty considerable interest rates. Think about the return you’re getting on your 401k investment. If it isn’t exceeding the interest you’re paying on credit cards, you’re still in the hole. Not to mention, so many people end up borrowing from their 401k to pay off credit card debt (which I would never recommend). If you have a 401k determine if you’re in a position to temporarily stop payments - perhaps for 6 months (or whatever works best for you). You can leverage those dollars to pay off some of your credit card debt and restart your contributions again when you’re ready.
Use the snowball method.
When thinking about how to pay off credit card debt, it can be extremely intimidating and just seem like it will take forever and never happen. One of the ways to see progress more quickly and maybe get a bit of instant gratification is using the snowball method to reduce debt. The snowball method requires you to pay revolving credit, i.e. credit cards, off from the lowest balance to the highest balance. You pay more on the card with the lowest balance and watch that one get paid off while continuing to pay the minimum on the other cards. You practice this strategy until all of your credit card debt is paid.
Set bills on auto draft.
There was one time when I was afraid to do this because I thought my bank account may be over drafted, but once I started I never looked back. Setting your bills for auto draft allows you to automatically pay your bills on time without even giving it a second thought.
Pay more than the minimum.
Keep in mind the goal is to pay off your credit card debt. If you pay more than the minimum you save interest, which saves you money, and allows you to pay off your debt more quickly.
Put tax refunds and bonuses towards credit card debt.
I know, I know. You probably look forward to your tax refund and bonus at work (if you get one) as play money. Money to splurge on something nice for yourself that’s usually expensive that you really can’t afford. Again, keep the end goal in mind and think about how to pay off credit card debt. There’s no sense in balling out of control and being broke!
Consider getting a side hustle.
To get out of debt you need to make more money or reduce your expenses. Getting a side hustle helps to add to your overall income. Those extra dollars can be spent going toward getting you out of debt.
Track your progress!
There’s nothing like seeing where you came from and watching where you’re going. Create a simple excel spreadsheet and track your progress by quarter, identifying the credit card debt balances you started with and where you land at the beginning of each quarter. Having a visual to show you progress could be the trick to keep you on track with paying off your debt!
I hope these tips are helpful and that you start using them right away. I love helping you in anyway I can so as a bonus to help you get started on how you can pay off your credit card debt I’ve created a Debt Diet Goals Worksheet. Download it for free here! I want you to take the first steps and start making your year 1, year 3 and year 5 goals. Remember to join me on Instagram to follow along in our Debt Diet journey and feel free to tag me if you want to share your goals. I can’t wait to shed these debt pounds with you!
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SMOOCHES!
Onteria