Ways to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Fast

Ways to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Fast

By Christopher Scully


If you're carrying credit card balances you need to focus on paying them off as fast you can. Here are several ways to pay off credit card debt fast as possible depending on your budget. Budget is the most important consideration when determining which approach below best meets your needs.
Snowball method

List out all of your debts and put them in sequence from the smallest balance to the largest balance. You're going to focus on getting the smallest balance account paid off first - this is your target account. Pay only the minimum monthly payment on all of the other accounts. If you have extra funds to add to your debt payments each month they should only be added to the target account. If you don't have any extra funds, then you need to cut some expenses to free up some extra funds each month, even if it's only $5 or $10 per month at first. Once your target account is paid off, you add what you were paying on that account every month to the minimum payment for your new target account (the account with the lowest outstanding balance at that point). Every time you pay off a debt the extra amount you're paying on the target account each month gets larger and larger. This is the best way to pay off credit card debt fast if you have enough in your budget to add to your minimum monthly payments.

Debt Consolidation Mortgage

While this is a way to pay off credit card debt fast, it doesn't reduce your overall indebtedness. You are simply moving the unsecured credit card debt into a refinanced first mortgage or a home equity loan. If you get into trouble and can't make your payments your home is at risk. It is very common for people who do this to end up back in credit card debt within a few years because their credit cards have available balances on them. Don't use this method if you don't think you can keep your spending under control.

Unsecured Debt Consolidation Loan or Balance Transfer

Like the mortgage solution, these solutions do not reduce your overall indebtedness. You'll pay off the cards you had when you applied for the loan, but you're left with the same amount of debt (or more) in a different account. You also leave open balances on the cards once they're paid off by the loan or the transfer and this leaves you the temptation to use them. Don't use this method if you can't control your spending.
The big differences between this and the mortgage method is that you don't have to own a home or have equity in your home and the interest rates will generally be higher than the rates for a mortgage. It's important to do the math on the loan fees or balance transfer fees and the interest rate to make sure that you actually come out ahead on this one. Sometimes you won't, the fees plus the long term interest might add up to more than you would have paid if you'd just left your balances where they were.

Debt Management Program

This kind of program is good for someone who has gotten behind temporarily, is able to pay the normal payments but can't get caught up. When you join a program like this your credit card accounts are closed and you pay the debt management agency a set payment every month, which they use to make your credit card payments. These programs can get you a lower interest rate or eliminate late fees and a few other things. Your credit card debt can get paid off a little faster this way than making the minimum payments.

Debt Settlement Program

This method of consolidating your credit card debt is generally good for folks who have a financial hardship and can't make their payments. They want to wipe out their debt but don't want to declare bankruptcy. They're not typically concerned about the ramifications to their credit report because their hardship prevents them from making their payments on time anyway. Here's how it works - you put money into a "settlement account" at a bank each month and you accumulate the funds there until you have enough to do a lump sum settlement on your first account (usually 30-50% of the balance). You negotiate a settlement with that creditor and that debt is satisfied when the settlement is paid. You repeat the process of accumulating funds and negotiation settlements until you've settled all of your debt.

Bankruptcy

If you want to wipe out your debt once and for all you could do it through bankruptcy. You need to have a financial hardship and you have to get some credit counseling. A bankruptcy attorney can tell you which type of bankruptcy you qualify for. Once your bankruptcy is discharged you are no longer liable for the debts, they're wiped out. Bankruptcies stay on your credit report for 10 years.
There are several ways to pay off credit card debt fast. Your budget determines which one is appropriate for you.

Christopher Scully invites you to find out more about consolidating credit card debt by visiting http://careplusfinancial.com.

If you're struggling with unsecured debt and want to learn how to get yourself out of debt once and for all, enroll in CarePlus Financial's Credit Card Debt Consolidation Program at http://careplusfinancial.com/content/consolidating-credit-card-debt

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