How to Pay Off Your Credit Card Faster
How To Pay Off Your Credit Card Faster
To avoid the stress that arises from snowballing credit card debt, here is a guide on how to pay off your credit card faster. If you’re tired of credit card debt feeling like a burden and a cause for concern, you’ll be glad to know there are some simple hacks that make paying it off far easier.
Here are five tips for paying off your credit card debt quickly and easily.
1. Pay More Than the Bare Minimum
Put simply, the more credit card debt that you pay off each month, the quicker your debt will disappear. Don’t view the minimum repayment amount as a recommendation or a guide for how much you should be paying. The minimum repayment is exactly that – the bare minimum!
If you only pay of the minimum amount each month, your debt will stick around for far longer. That means you will wind up paying a lot of more interest on that debt over time.
Instead, pay off as much as of your debt as you possibly can to reduce how much it costs to eliminate the debt overall.
2. Focus on One Card First
While you should aim to pay more than the minimum repayment, this is not realistic if you have credit card debt across multiple cards. Instead, we recommend paying the minimum on every card except for one.
Choose either the card with the smallest debt or highest interest. Focus on this one card until it’s completely paid off, then move onto the next. The satisfaction of paying off all the debt on a card will keep you motivated to pay off the rest.
3. Don’t Hold Back on Using Your Savings
It’s normal to be protective over our savings. However, consider the interest you’re earning on the money in your savings account. Is it more than the money you’ll owe in interest on your credit card debt? Probably not.
That means using your savings to pay off an interest-accruing debt might be the wise thing to do.
4. Scrutinise Your Spending Habits
Until your credit card debt is paid off, it may be necessary to be more conservative with your spending. Log into your bank account online to see your recent payments. Notice whether you could exercise restraint in your spending in simple ways that would make a big difference to your savings each month.
Is there a subscription service that’s rolling over each month that you’re not really using? Are you buying more coffees than you need to?
There are lots of helpful (and free) apps, such as Spendee, that you can use to keep track of your spending habits while you kick your credit card debt to the curb.
5. Get A Better Deal
If credit card debt is something you consistently struggle with, consider changing to a credit card that is better suited to you.
Low interest credit cards are often associated with higher annual fees. However, this might be a better option if you find yourself consistently using your card as a borrowing tool and paying significant interest each month.
Finding the best deal on the credit card is the best way to prevent excessive debt and money stress in the long term. Our experts at Compare & Connect can scan a range of deals across the web to find the best credit card suited to your lifestyle and spending habits. Enlist our help today at no extra cost to you!
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