Millions of individuals have found themselves deeply in debt because they have been charging items to their credit cards and allowing the balances on those credit cards to reach levels that they cannot easily pay off. Getting out of credit card debt is very difficult because many credit card companies have found that there are numerous ways to increase credit card debt after you have placed a large balance on your credit card, including charging late fees, over limit fees, and high interest rates on the credit cards that you hold. Getting rid of credit card debt is not easy and it can take a long time to completely get rid of credit card debt if you have run up large balances, but getting rid of credit card debt forever can be accomplished if you are determined to make a lifestyle change.
Stop Making Purchases With The Credit Card
The first thing that you must do to get rid of credit card debt is to eliminate the charges that you place on the credit cards each month. The main reason that many people begin to accumulate large amounts of credit card debt is because they are spending more than they make each month and are using credit cards to bridge the gap between what they are making and what they are spending. To get rid of credit card debt, you must stop using the credit cards and start using any additional money that you have left after paying your bills to pay down your credit card debt.
Purchases paid for with a credit card can end up costing you a great deal more than paying in cash because of the additional charges that are added to the balance of the account by the credit card company. Over time, the interest rate and finance charges can add hundreds of dollars in additional charges to the balance of the credit card, especially if you have only been making the minimum payment each time the balance was due.
Make Eliminating Your Credit Card Debt A High Priority
To get rid of credit card debt, you must make the repayment of the credit card debt a high priority. Instead of using the money left over from paying your bills on “luxury purchases” such as restaurant meals, movie tickets, or new clothing, you should apply those funds to your credit card debt. Although these expenses may seem little at the time, over time they add up and the money spent on those purchases would be better used breaking credit card debt’s hold on your life.
Get a Better Interest Rate
It’s going to be very difficult to get out of credit card debt if you’re paying 23-33% interest on your money, so if you can do a balance transfer to a card with a lower rate, you can save hundreds per month. If you had $25,000 in credit card debt and had a 20% interest rate, you would save $416.66 a month by moving it over to a 0-interest card. Sometimes these offers are hard to get, but you can find some good loan modification leads by searching online through one of the many comparison sites.