Getting into serious credit card debt can be extremely easy, but getting out of the situation is almost always far, far harder. Here are four simple tips to get you out of the hole.
1. Change Your Habits
Firstly, you’re going to need to pull back on spending. Look at what you can economize on, whether that means cutting back on coffees and eating out or canceling that vacation you were thinking of. Also, consider writing up a formal budget, so you have something to stick to and an indicator if you’re going wrong. In the meantime, do everything that you can to avoid incurring additional fees on your cards.
2. Prioritize Your Problems
If you have debt on multiple cards then tackle the card with the highest rates first. If you ensure that you’re making the minimum payment on all your cards, while prioritizing the card that is costing you the most, then it should contain the issue (preventing additional fees) and accelerate your path to becoming debt free. What’s more, once you’ve cleared that card you know that you’ve made a big step towards your goal of becoming debt free.
3. See If You Can Get Your Interest Rates Reduced
Believe it or not, but if you phone up your provider and ask for a reduced interest rate (or even to cancel late payment fees) then they may agree. Always making payments on time and having a good credit rating will help your case, but the worst thing that they can do is to turn down your request – so you have very little to lose.
4. Prepare For The Future
It doesn’t end there though: don’t stop saving when you hit zero. Having an emergency fund will mean that when disaster inevitably strikes you’ll have something to fall back on – and you won’t need to borrow from a friend or put everything on your card. Lastly, while it might be tempting, don’t put the money towards Christmas or a vacation but save for such treats separately.