7 Steps To Eliminate Debt – Page 3
interest on the full credit card balance as of the purchase date.
The late fees hurt you immediately and would be better used to reduce your debt. They're
also a strike against your credit rating and future bargaining power.
By paying late, you also diminish your chances of getting the best rates and deals on a car
loan or a mortgage. In the long run -- especially in the case of a mortgage -- that kind of
negligence can cost you thousands of dollars.
Also, in addition to these seven tips, you should also try the following:
First, you need to create a list of all your credit cards, including their balance, interest rate,
minimum payment, and last statement payment. Now rearrange that list so that the credit
card with the highest interest rate is at the top and the card with the lowest interest rate is at
the bottom. High interest rates, especially on cards that you have a high balance on, are your
greatest concern.
Second, add up the required minimum payments for all of the cards. Decide how much
money you can come up with each month in addition to the money needed to pay off the
minimum payments on all cards. It is important that you find ways to put aside more money
than needed for just the minimum payments or you will never be able to pay off your debt.
Now, each month pay the minimum balance on each card, but on the card with the highest
interest rate pay the minimum balance plus all the extra money that you put aside in the extra
step. Continue to do this until the first card (with the highest interest rate) is payed off in full,
then apply this same principle to the next credit card.
Note: it is not a good idea to use one credit card to pay off another credit card's debt!
Also, Call every one of your credit card companies and request a lower interest rate. You may
be surprised at how quickly some of them will agree. Lower interest rates mean you can
eliminate your credit card debt more quickly without increasing your payments.
Final Step
There are many free resources on the internet that help you analyze and eliminate your debt.
I suggest looking into some of these offers:
estimated total debt, and email and have a specialist talk with you about how to reduce
or eliminate your debt
Debt Genie's free, no obligation consultation
– similar to DebtProfessional.net, it is worth trying out also. Like above, provide your zip code, estimated total debt, and
email address.
DebtMatch.net free debt assessment
– fill out the form and their system will match you with one or two specialists who will explain your options, and then you decide what
DebtProfessional.net's free debt analysis program
