7 Easy Ways to Erase Credit Card Debt

So, you’ve got too much credit card debt. What can you do to get rid of it? Winning the lottery is not a strategy. So you’ve got to look for other ways to fix your money problems and erase your credit card debt.

Credit card debt affects a lot of people these days. So don’t feel bad. Just take action. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll get out of debt.

Here are 7 easy ways to erase credit card debt:

1. Make it a point to save money to pay for three months of expenses. You can do this by putting aside an emergency fund. Open up an account where in you are going to save a part of your monthly salary that will be used during emergency situations. Even if you just save $20 or $50 a week or whatever you can afford, before long it will add up. Once you have saved up then you can concentrate more on paying off your credit card debt. Like for instance, if your car broke down, you now have money to use instead of using your credit card for the repair.

2. After saving up for an emergency fund, write down a list of all your credit card bills, from most amount owed to least amount owed. You should also write down the interest rate. Your priority will be the one that has the smallest amount to be paid (or the one that is already overdue, if you have one). Being able to know the exact amount of your credit card debt is a painful process - but at the same time it will help determine your next step in paying off your debt.

3. Contact the customer support of the credit card company. Tell the representative that you want to know if they can give you a lower interest rate. If they did not grant your request, ask if you can talk to a supervisor and ask the same question. This is not guaranteed to work, but there is still a chance that they may grant your request. If not, wait a month and call again. Even if it does work, wait a month and call again to see if you can get it even lower.

4. Consolidate credit card debts to the credit card that has lower interest rate. Contact the credit card company that has the lowest interest rate and ask if you can do a balance transfer. In addition, ask if there is a balance transfer fee and if they can waive it. Some banks will waive this and save you even more money.

5. Hide all your credit cards except for the one that has the highest credit available. You do not need several credit cards because this will just tempt you to keep using them. The credit card with the highest credit available will be used only in emergency situations, until then focus on paying off your existing debt.

6. Start by paying the credit card bill with the smallest amount. Add as much as you can to the minimum monthly payment amount, even if it’s just an extra $10 or $20. Once you get rid of the smallest amount, take the money you were paying for the first card, and add the whole amount to the next highest card. Pretty soon you’ll start seeing the debts start to shrink.

7. Save more & earn more. If you need to take on a part-time job just to pay-off your credit card debt then do so. Save every dime that you can, live on a budget and just buy the things that you really need. Get rid of any expenses you don’t need. It is important that you know how to control yourself from spending because this will greatly help in clearing your debt.

Then, when you’re completely out of debt, make a commitment to staying out of debt. Following these steps and erasing your credit card bills feels great. Having to do it all over again doesn’t. So be smart, and stay out of debt!