How to pay down your credit cards?

Many of us have had difficulties some time in our lives with credit cards, it is so easy to buy stuff, charge it, and forget it. We buy things we really don’t need because we feel the power of credit cards. It is a piece of plastic after all, and with that piece of plastic, we can buy an expensive watch, designer clothes, take our friends to dinner, or even use it to put a down payment on a car!

Then we get more credit card offers and start collecting them, and in no time our credit card balances have reached $10,000 or even $20,000 dollars. Some cards have exorbitant interest rates, 20% or 30% in some cases, and the worst part is that credit card companies don’t want you to pay them down quickly, they only want you to pay a minimum, I have seen a $2000 credit card bill with a minimum payment of $25 per month, this barely pays for the interest, at that rate you can be lucky to pay it off after 5 or 6 years.

Here is how to pay down your credit cards quickly. This comes from personal experience, I am currently credit card debt-free. Here’s how I did it. I had 6 credit cards, so I sorted them by the highest interest rate, not by balance, I paid as much as I could on the one with the highest interest rate, while only paying the minimum on the other cards making sure I am paying at least the interest incurred plus $5. Once I paid down that credit card, I moved to the next and paid as much as I could on that one, I did that until I paid down the other credit cards. It took a few months but it felt good to pay down a high-interest credit card and close the account. More on that later.

Here are a few things to keep in mind: If you have an offer from a card company with 0% interest until a certain date, make sure you pay that down quickly as well. Most of these offers are very well studied to get as much interest from you as possible. Credit card companies know your financials very well, and they know when to send you these offers, do not fall for these traps. Not only will your credit score drop if you have more credit cards, but you will be tempted to charge more on the ones you just paid off. Just stick to paying down your existing cards as quickly as possible.

Should you close your credit card account? Yes! Absolutely! Your goal is to get out of debt. Do not worry too much about how your credit score is affected by closing your cards. Would you rather have a 720 FICO score and be $10,000 in debt, or a 650 FICO score and bet $0 in debt? Once you pay down your credit cards, you will start saving money and get out of the credit card trap. I currently have a single card which I have to pay off by the end of the month. I am happy, do not worry about credit cards or loans. It feels great! I don’t owe anything to anyone! I am free!