Does anyone know any tricks to paying off your credit cards fast.?

Question

I try to pay more than the minimum each month, but I was wondering if anyone knew of ways to pay them off faster, such as making a weekly payment instead of a monthly. Thanks

Answer 1

Yes .... follow Dave Ramsey's "Debt Snowball". Start by listing all your debts and the minimum balance. Example:

Balance Min. Payment
Credit Card 1 1,000 50
Credit Card 2 500 20
Car Loan 5,000 300
Store Credit 250 15

Now, order them from BALANCE payment to high payment.

Balance Min. Payment
Store Credit 250 15
Credit Card 2 500 20
Credit Card 1 1,000 50
Car Loan 5,000 300

Now ... while paying the minimums on all cards, put EVERY SPARE CENT you can scrape together on the lowest balance item (store credit). Once that is paid off, put that minimum payment and EVERY SPARE CENT you can scrape together on the second lowest item (Credit Card 2) ... now you're making a larger payment of the second item ... keep doing that until your debt is completely paid off.

This does two things ... it allows you to stay focused on what you owe and to who you owe it. And second and more important it is empowering and makes you feel good about doing the right things because you quickly get to the point of paying OFF debt to someone. It sounds funny ... but it feels good when you can tell yourself you don't owe 5 people money ... only 4 people money ... then 3 people ... etc. etc. It's amazing the impact that can have on you mentally.

Combine the debt snowball with practical things like saving your change from purchases and putting that on the debt, bring your coffee to work in a thermos instead of buying it at the coffee shop, brown bag your lunch instead of buying it, buy pop in cases and bring them to work instead of buying it from machines. These simple things can save you hundreds of dollars a month that you can directly put on your debt if you're disciplined.

Good Luck!
Store Credit 15 250
Car Loan 300 5,000
Store Credit 15 250

Answer 2

Start paying as much as you can on the lowest balance card, but keep paying at least the minimum on the other cards. You can make weekly payments as long as you make sure that you mail to the correct address and your account number is on your check. All payments go to a lock box and they are processed using the remittance you tear off. But they will also be able to process the weekly payments manually. Another way is...most credit card companies have a website and you can pay on line weekly. Most importantly.....to pay them down and be out of debt....You have to put the cards somewhere that you will no longer use them.

Answer 3

Making bimonthly or weekly payments will definately help pay the balance off faster since the average daily balance
is used to calculate the finance charges and that amount will be lower if you have made payments during the month.
Always pay as much above the minimum as you can since sometimes the minimum payment barely covers the finance charges and your balance will never get lower.

Answer 4

Paying more towards your principal balance on the accounts with the highest interest rates and fees will dramatically decrease your debt over a shorter period of time. By law, credit card companies require at least 3% of the balance plus interest, but at that rate, it can take upwards of 20 years to pay off a few thousand-dollar debts. Depending upon your credit and payment history, you can call up all your creditors and negotiate a better rate of interest by telling them another competitor is offering you say a 6% rate or less.

Bankrate.com has a wide variety of financial calculators that provide graphs and amortization tables showing month by month the break down of principal and interest, along with total interest paid over the life of the debt for credit cards, car loans, mortgages, CD’s and so on. After plugging in the numbers you will have a greater sense of how much you can potentially save in interest, which can act as a further motivator.

Answer 5

Most credit cards allow payments online every 7 or 8 days. You can do that, but I would look at taking a second job to accelerate the payoff. You could also choose one with the largest balance and pay all of the extra towards that one without using it until the balance is paid. Then put that payment and extra cash towards the next, etc.

Answer 6

Only one method exists. Earn more and/or spend less. Use the difference to pay down the debt. Pay the minimum on every card except the one with the highest interest rate. Pay as much as possible on that debt. When you pay one off, apply that payment to the next highest rate debt.

Answer 7

the best way is to stop charging, put your credit cards in plastic and put it in the freezer so you can't get to it, and get a second or third job....If you work during the week, then get an evening job and a weekend job for as long as you can.