One of the Best Ways to Pay Off Credit Cards - This Works!

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By Dianeyp

Pay Off Credit Cards

 

So you are sitting down with your bills, and as usual you are making the minimum payments on your credit card, but you would really like to get rid of these balances. So, you scrimp a bit, and save enough to give each credit card bill a bit extra, but it is going to take years! So, what are the best ways to pay off credit cards?

You could pay them all a bit more than the minimum and you will chip away at the balances, but if it is going to take years, then you are not going to stay focused on it. You could try and pick up extra work, or work overtime, but now this will just affect your family life and create more stress. So, what are the best ways to pay off credit cards?

Consolidate Credit Cards - You have probably heard this before. This means try and put all the credit card balances onto one card to make one big payment. This does work too, but you will have to have a credit card with enough room remaining to add the balance from your other cards. If you can manage to find a low interest card, that will be willing to transfer your higher debt to it, then go for it.

But many times, you may have a few cards, and not enough limit on any one of them to consolidate credit cards. So, what are the best ways to pay off credit cards?

Personally, I found the best way to pay off credit cards, was to go for the smallest balance first. This may not be what experts have told you. But to try and pay everyone a little bit extra, is not really going to get rid of any of them for a long time, and you will become disheartened. So, if you can manage to find some extra money in your budget, that you have been trying to equally spread between card bills, then instead of doing that, here is my plan.

Best Way to Pay Off Credit Cards - Find the smallest balance credit card. No matter what the interest rate, and you are going to single this one out. You will continue to pay all your other bills and credit cards the best that you can, at least the minimum payment. Now you are going to focus your energies on this smaller balanced one.

So, if you were trying to spread an extra 100 dollars for example across 4 credit cards or bills, that would have been 25 dollars extra on each one. Well instead with my plan, you would take that 100 dollars extra and put it with the regular amount you would pay this smaller balance and pay it down. You will see the balance dropping, and because this is a smaller balanced card, you should see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Some will argue that this is not the best way to pay off credit cards, but I can tell you, this works. I did not start with the highest interest card, I went directly for the lowest balanced card. This way I could see the end in sight, and I could focus all my energies into getting this one paid off.

Once you get that one paid off, pat yourself on the back for a job well done, then you can go for the next one in line. But by focusing on this one bill, I didn't feel overwhelmed. You are still paying your other bills, but you are working hard on just this one. The payments are bigger you see the balance dropping, which gives you motivation to find more money to pay it down, or work out just how many months it will take. This one bill was always on my mind. I kept trying to find more money in my budget to attack it.

Best Way to Pay Off Credit Cards - You have to do what is right for you. Yes, the higher paying interest credit card should go first, but if you can get rid of these smaller balanced bills first, then you can take the payments you were using on them and apply them to the next card and the next after that. It is a snowball effect.

By working on one bill at a time, it feels more like a project with a beginning and a end rather than spreading yourself amongst too many other projects. You are focused. So give it a try, if you feel like you are spinning your wheels with credit card debt.

The best way to pay off credit cards, is to come up with a simple system like this, something you can be comfortable with and go for it. You will get there!   Best Ways to Pay Off Credit Cards Without Depriving Yourself  figure out a system that works for you.  Give this one a try.

Comments

UrsulaRose profile image

UrsulaRose Level 3 Commenter 17 months ago

Useful information that will no doubt help out many Hubbers out there.

On a personal note, I treat my credit card as if it was a debit card ... by that I mean I have the convenience of a credit card but have a set limit and pay it off every month starting with a $0 balance. So far so good as any debt I incur is manageable.

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