As a teen, you didn’t understand how much trouble you could get into with debt. You bought items here and there, always paying the minimum on what you owed. Now, the limits on your cards have climbed, and you owe more than ever.
Credit card debt can become overwhelming, but it’s important to remember that there are ways to get ahead of it. Whether you decide to take a drastic route to eliminate debt or pay it down over time, you can get out from under the oppression of living in debt.
There are dozens of ways you can pay off debt, but there are a few that are better than others. Here are a few tips for getting your debt paid off fast.
First, start with paying all your minimums on time. While paying minimums alone won’t help you get out of debt fast, it will make sure your credit score stays stable. Next, take any extra money you have and put it toward the balance on the lowest credit card to begin paying it off. Once it’s paid off, take any extra money you have along with the paid-off card’s payment and use it to pay the next card each month. Keep doing this until all your debts are paid in full.
If you don’t think that this is a reasonable way to pay off your debt due to the amount you owe, another possibility is bankruptcy. With a bankruptcy, you have a few options. Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidates some of your assets to pay back debts. Chapter 13 allows you to pay back debts over the course of three to five years. In the end, both dismiss any outstanding unsecured balances.
Source: CNN Money, “The smartest way to pay off credit card debt,” Danielle Wiener-Bronner, accessed Sep. 08, 2017