In a nutshell, what you want to do to get your credit card debt under control is set goals, monitor your progress, and reward yourself along the way.
The first thing you need to do is set up a goal. Goals vary from person to person so when you’re setting it up you do want to make sure it’s achievable. For example, if you’ve only got a couple hundred extra each month and you’ve got $5,000 in credit card debt, you’re not going to be able to pay it off in 6 months.
What you really want to so it set up your main goal — pay off the $5000. Then break that down into achievable steps. Your first goal might be to consolidate all of your debt into one low- or no-interest loan. (It’s hard to make any progress when the majority of your payment goes toward interest). You’ll want to look for a credit card with a balance transfer option with the lowest interest rate possible for the longest time possible. Typically they’ll offer the low rate for 6 months to a year. Once that expires, get another card and do the same thing again. You do have to pay a transfer fee, but that’s usually quite a lot less than what the interest would be. You can see what your interest charges are from your statement and determine if it’s worth it from it.
Your second step may be to have a garage sale, and pay off $500.00. Your third goal might be to track your spending for a month, and then determine what you could eliminate so that instead of having just $200.00 a month to pay down your debt you can pay $300.00 a month. (Do you really need that latte or could bring a thermos from home? What about brown bagging it? What about car pooling?)
Monitor your progress. You’ve made a good start. You’ve had your garage sale. You’ve come up with your budget. If you’re still racking up charges then you’re really not making as much progress as you thought. If you’ve consolidated all of your debt onto one card then you simply have to watch the balance go down. Part of monitoring your progress also includes setting new sub-goals. Perhaps you’ve got some things you could sell on Ebay? Maybe you could sell your gas-guzzler and get a more economical car? Do you eat out? Maybe you could have more meals at home?
Finally, you want to reward yourself. Once you’ve paid off that first $1000 do something to celebrate. This doesn’t mean going on a spending spree, but do something inexpensive that you really enjoy. I love looking for bargains at the Goodwill. You’d be surprised what you can get for $20.00. Go out for dinner and a movie. That won’t break the bank and you deserve it.
Hang in there. You may have unplanned expenses along the way. You get a flat and have to get a couple of new tires. You’ve got some unexpected medical expenses. Just make sure you always pay your minimum on time and go back to your plan which includes the extra the next month. Late fees are just an additional expense, and some credit card companies bump up your interest rate if you’re late so you want to always pay the minimum on time.
This article was provided by Pamela A Peterson, president and CEO of http://www.123creditpalace.us. She set up and operates this site to provide a variety of credit options (balance transfers, student credit cards, gas cards, travel cards, etc.). so that people can find the credit offer(s) that best suit their needs.