Time to Tackle Credit Card Bills

Here's a piece from Kiplinger's that offers five steps to paying off your debt:

Step 1: Put your credit cards away, at least until you've paid them off.

Step 2: Dig for loose change. (to make those larger minimum payments -- or to pay extra toward your principal)

Step 3: Consider a balance transfer.

Step 4: Pay off cards with highest rates first.

Step 5: Get help if you need it.

Almost everyone reading this blog can cut back somewhere (usually in many places) if they really wanted to. If you don't think you can, visit the saving money category index here at Free Money Finance for a boatload of ways to save a boatload of cash.

Comments

[Jay Fleischman]

It's important to remember that if you do a balance transfer and will not pay the balance off in full during the "teaser rate" period then you need to look carefully at what the regular interest rate will be. If you're going to carry the balance for a long enough time, there may be no savings in transferring the balance at all. In addition, be mindful of the balance transfer fee associated with moving the debt over to the new card; many issuers charge as much as 2% of the balance transferred up to a maximum of $50. For a very large balance it might make sense, but for a $1,000 balance or less it may end up costing more than it saves.