So you’re up to your neck in debt, and you want to know how to get rid of it. You know you should pay it off, but you’re not sure how to. You’re not sure if you’re even able to. And there are so many credit card debt relief options to choose from. But you certainly want to settle your card debts and erase bad credit problems that are growing each day. So where to begin?
Settling Credit Card Debt – For Real!
If you want to settle credit card debt yourself (without the help of a financial planner), you’ve got to be financially handy. We recommend everyone who is in too deep in debt visits a financial planner; think of them as your primary care finance doctor to help you erase your debt.
The first step is to evaluate how long it will take you to pay off. If it will take you more than a couple years to pay off your debt, you may as well file for bankruptcy to wipe the debt clean. Yep, that’s right. Filing for bankruptcy is not necessarily bad, and it can be used to get you out of an even worse debt management situation.
If you can pay it off within a couple years, here is the way to do it:
How to Settle Credit Card Debt
Save an extra $200 per month. I don’t care how, but do it. Find some way to save that extra money. Now, pay the minimum payment on all your credit cards. This will ensure that your credit won’t get eaten up. Finally, you’ll want to attach that extra $200 you came up with on to the credit card with the smallest balance. Do not put it on the card with the smallest APR, unless of course, it happens to be the card with the smallest balance.
Once that card is fully paid up, take that minimum payment and extra $200 and put it on to your next smallest (now smallest) card. Pay that one off. Then, take everything you were paying on that card and put it on your next smallest card. Do this all the way until you finish paying off all the cards.
This “snowballing” will help you pay off your cards much faster than spreading extra money evenly across all your cards, and it will be faster than paying the lowest APR cards down first.
Remember, though, don’t do this if your credit card debt is too overwhelming. If it is too large, you should file for bankruptcy. Don’t be afraid of bankruptcy if your financial adviser recommends it. It is easy to get back on to your feet in today’s world after bankruptcy, but don’t expect to get a credit card after bankruptcy or an unsecured credit card, without paying higher fees.
Related posts:
- Finding A Credit Card After Bankruptcy
- Consolidate Your Own Credit Card Debt
- Top Tips For Settling Credit Card Debt
- More On Credit Cards After Bankruptcy
- Getting An Unsecured Credit Card
- Eliminating Credit Card Debt (For Real)
- How To Negotiate Credit Card Debt Like A Pro
- All About Easy To Get Credit Cards
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