Conquering credit card debt: 7 strategies every adult should know

Digging out of credit card debt can feel like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. Fun fact: Dealing with your debt is probably going to be a lot easier. You can break free. With the right tools and mindset, you can ditch the debt and the stress that comes along with it. 

Ready to turn things around? Here are 7 fresh, practical ways to tackle your credit card debt head-on. Using a free debt payoff app can help with all these strategies.

1. Ask your lender for help

One of the most underrated ways to pay off credit card debt is by reaching out to your lender. Lenders aren’t required to offer help, but many do by giving you a lower interest rate if you ask. Negotiating your own debt could make your payments more affordable and help you get your debt paid off faster. There’s no harm in asking.

2. Take a break from using your credit card

It seems obvious, but if you keep using your credit card without working to pay it off, your balance could grow larger. Or at the very least, you’ll negate at least some of your progress. Paying down and charging up your account is a hamster wheel that can be hard to stop.

That’s why experts recommend not making charges on any credit cards that have a balance, if possible. You’ll make quicker progress in paying down your debt if all of your efforts go toward reducing the balance, rather than adding to it.

3. Create a new budget

One of the most powerful financial tools of all is the humble budget. A budget is your spending plan. It’s a roadmap that you can use to figure out how you’ll spend your money each month. You get to choose. Once you decide where you want your dollars to go, you can track your progress throughout the month to make sure you’re on track. Use a free budgeting app like Achieve MoLO, which makes it easy to see where your money is going and helps you find money leftover each month. 

4. Make extra payments

It can take years or decades to pay off a credit card if you only make the minimum payment. In order to conquer your credit card debt once and for all, pay more than the minimum. 

There are only two ways to find more money in your budget for debt payments: earn more or spend less.

Your budget should help you find spending categories you’re willing to cut back on in order to apply more dollars to your debts. Paying more than the minimum will help you hop on the fast track to debt freedom. Plus, the faster you pay off your debts, the more you could save on finance charges along the way. 

5. Consider debt consolidation

Another popular way to pay off one or more credit cards is to transfer it to a debt consolidation loan. Personal loans and home equity loans are good choices since they often charge lower interest rates compared to credit cards. A lower interest rate is a great way to pay down your debt faster. Unless you opt for a lower payment, more of your payment will go toward the balance you owe and less will go toward interest. That means you could reach zero debt sooner.   

6. Try the debt snowball payoff strategy

Many people with multiple debts to pay off have had success with the debt snowball strategy. It works like this:

• List your debts from the smallest balance to the largest.  

• Make extra payments on your smallest debt until it’s paid off. Give it everything you’ve got. Continue making minimum payments on all the other debts. 

• When the first debt is paid off, roll that payment to the next debt. Add what you were paying toward your smallest debt to the minimum payment you were making on your second smallest debt. Pay that much (and more if you can) against the now-smallest debt each month until it’s paid off.  

• Continue rolling over your payments to the next debt until all debts are paid off. By the time you’re working on your last credit card, you’ll be sending in the combined total payment you’ve been making for all of your debts toward this one credit card. This is usually a high amount and lets you finish paying off that biggest debt lightning-quick.

7. Get help from a debt expert

If you’re not sure where to start, reach out to a trained debt expert or credit counselor who can help you identify the right debt solution, develop a plan, and guide you along the way. 

A debt expert can listen to the details of your situation and suggest strategies that may be appropriate. For instance, if you have a serious financial hardship, it might be an option to resolve your debts for less than the full amount you owe.

If you want to get better at budgeting and saving, a credit counselor could help guide you.

Choose the right ways to pay off credit card debt

No matter what your debt situation looks like, there’s a solution for it. It’s true that getting out of debt takes work and time, and usually some sacrifices on your part. As you go forward on this journey, remember who you’re doing this for. You. Every dollar you choose to put toward your debt puts you one step closer to a better financial future.