1. Create a budget that includes debt payments.
Paying off high debt may be easier when you have a plan written down or a budget. Leave enough room in your budget to make large payments toward your debt. Take a look at your non-essential line items such as streaming services and essential line items such as groceries to see where you can create some wiggle room in your budget. While you probably can’t eliminate essential line items, you may be able to cut back on them.
When creating your budget, consider what your financial goals are. When do you realistically plan to be out of debt? Calculate how long it will take to pay off your debt based on the size of your debt payments each month. If you won’t reach your goal, you may need to figure out a way to increase your debt payments.
2. Pay more than the minimum payment each month.
If you have 30k in credit card debt, you need to be making significant payments toward your bill or your debt will continue to multiply. This means paying more than the minimum payment each month, and ideally more than what you added to your statement in the previous month.
If you are serious about paying off your high credit card debt, you need to make sure you are paying off as much as your budget allows each month. The lower your principal, the less interest you’ll likely pay.
3. Use cash when possible.
Now that you’re paying more than the minimum payment each month, try to cut down on increasing the principle of your credit card debt by using cash. Your interest will still continue to increase but at least the principal won’t be increasing as well.
Cash can also be helpful in cutting down on debt because it’s easier to see where your money is going. You physically have to provide the money for your purchases with cash, decreasing the ability to go over budget in a single shopping trip. Make sure you only take what can fit into your budget.
4. Find a debt settlement company
If you are over $30k in credit card debt, it may be more than you can handle through do-it-yourself efforts. If you’re not making progress on your own, it may be time to contact a professional debt settlement company such as ClearOne Advantage. Unlike debt consolidation loans, you don’t need a good credit score to qualify for debt settlement. While you can go through debt settlement on your own by contacting your debtors yourself, the professional debt settlement companies have a lot more experience and will often negotiate a better discount for you.
For example, our ClearOne Advantage Certified Debt Specialists may be able to negotiate your debt down to 75% before fees in many cases. We will also consolidate your debt into one monthly payment, so you no longer have to keep track of multiple credit card payments.
