With credit card debt in the United States nearing 1 TRILLION dollars, it’s easy to say that a great deal of people are feeling overwhelmed by the debts carried on their revolving accounts. Many people who carry balances on their credit cards pay just the monthly minimums and ignore the problem. This is NOT a good plan. Pretending your debts don’t exist just makes the problem that much worse. This strategy will backfire on you every time in the long run. It will make you miserable, it will cause you to be unable to save for the future and it could eventually drive you into bankruptcy.
If you are interested in trying to get started on paying down your long term credit card debts we have some advice for you. The best strategy starts with the first step and that step is often to modify your spending habits by creating a budget and sticking to it. Just small modifications to your daily routine can mean big savings that you can then start using to pay down your balances one at a time, always starting with the payment with the highest interest rates.
Step one is to decide on a repayment strategy. Don’t allow yourself to continue to drown under the weight of multiple credit card payments each month. If you start working your way down from the top (meaning you pay off your biggest balance or highest interest rate) you can begin to reduce your debts quickly, freeing up more and more disposable income that you can then use to continue to pay off other debts.
Another step you can take is to communicate with the people you owe money to. If you’re struggling with the exorbitantly high interest rates that are routinely charged by credit card companies, sometimes just giving them a call and asking for an interest rate reduction will allow you to free up more money to pay down the principal on the card each month. Sometimes credit card companies will work with you on rates if you’ll commit to repaying the debt at that lower interest rate.
There are lots of options available to you if you feel like your drowning in credit card debt. The attorneys at Harmon and Gorove can help you find a way out of debt for good. Contact us for a free, no obligation consultation to find out how we can get you started down a path to financial freedom.