In life it is a good idea to set goals for ourselves. Financial goals are often the ones that are high up on this list and can help us mapped out our future expenses. As well, these goals can allow us to make a plan for how we will pay off our debts – one debt in particular being, credit card debt, which can cause us a lot of unwanted grief and can quickly get out of hand without the proper intervention.
While sometimes the goals we set may be long terms, others will take place across a shorter time span. If, however you are trying to attack your current credit card debt – why not set a goal of improving it by this Labour Day long weekend? Maybe this sounds like a good idea for you, and if so – here are 5 steps to reducing your credit card debt over the next few weeks.
1) Put a Hold on Using your Card
One fairly straightforward method of beginning to reduce your credit card debt is to stop using it altogether. While you may rely on your card quite often to pay for a variety of expenses – continuing to use it while you have a lot of debt – specifically credit card debt can be the main reason your debt continues to rise, instead of going down.
With rising debt levels from repetitive credit card use, it is highly likely that this is preventing you from paying down your card. Even if you are able to keep up with making your monthly payments on time it also may be that you are only paying down the minimum payment each time. In turn, as your credit card balance moves upwards, you will also be required to make higher minimum payments, aka interest charges and this will make it even more challenging to pay it off.
If this doesn’t make a case for stopping to use your credit card – at least until you can pay off some or a large chunk of your debt, I don’t know what will. Therefore, if you put a hold on using the credit card, you can start to make a dint in your credit card debt and get on to a good start of lowering this balance by Labour Day.
2) Look for Additional Sources of Income
Next up on the list for credit card debt relief is to look for some alternative sources of income to help pay some of it off. There may actually be some ways to accumulate some fast cash that are right under your nose. For example, you could look around your home for items that you may be able to sell. Clothing, CDS & electronics, and furniture & antiques are a few potential ideas that can often find a home with some else and allow you to earn some money too.
If having a garage sale is not an option, there are likely some other avenues to pursue such as consignment stores, used stores such as the Beat Goes On that trade money for used CDs and DVDs, and posting items online on sites such as kjiji and eBay can also work too to earn some extra income.
Another method of finding other sources of income is to look for some additional work. Whether this is in the form of more hours/over time or finding a part time job/casual temp work, this can also make it more convenient for you to pay off more debt. Additionally, many online work opportunities also exist that can coincide well with your current form of employment, yet can help you secure more income across more hours of the day. These jobs can sometimes be established quite quickly so you can work towards paying down your debt loan in time for September.
Ultimately, whatever works for you and fits with your lifestyle may help you earn some more income to pay off a good portion of your debt and get your credit card balance and interest charges down as soon as possible.
3) Up Your Payments by 25%
As mentioned, if you are currently only paying off the minimum monthly balance, then you already know that you are not really making a lot of progress in lessening your credit card balance. Now however, that you have stopped using your card, and have also freed up a bit of cash, you can then consider increasing your payments. To add to your specific debt relief timeline, you can also consider upping this payment by exactly 25%.
While you may not be able to make up this payment amount in one single payment, you could also consider making two separate payments each month. Of course you will still want to make at least the minimum payment by its due date, you can then follow up with another backup payment a week or two later. Either way, in order to make a difference in your credit card debt now – raising the payment even by 25% can help you pay down more of your ongoing debt.
4) Cut Back on Some of your Expenses
In additional to adding a few more billable work hours to your schedule, you can also look to cut back on some of your current expenses in order to save some money. This is also a step that you can take that can add up rather quickly and can ensure you save money from day one.
Some options for dialling back on your spending can include, preparing meals at home and eating out less. Whether this is simply deciding to stop paying for a coffee every morning and carrying snacks with you so you don’t need to buy them while you’re out – all in all this can encourage a little bit more saving.
When shopping for food & groceries, you can consider buying in bulk, and waiting out the discounts and sales that may help you save on these purchases. You can also look at butting down on some of your current services, such as cable, internet and your cell phone packages, therefore reducing these monthly costs too.
If, for example, you have saved even $20 – $100 by doing this, you can use this income to pay off your credit card balance. On top of your already upped payment percentage efforts, paying off more of your debt with this money can be another resourceful strategy to implement each week and each month.
5) Get on a Regular Savings Plan
The fifth and final step I propose can also be a beneficial method of reducing your debts as soon as possible. This step also can be fairly easy, if you have two things – a jar and diligence. If you can spare even $10 a day to add to your jar, this will add up to $70 a week and as high as $300 by month’s end.
Continuing to stay on track for the next couple weeks and beyond can really help you get into a proper routine of saving. Depending on when your personal debt-reduction goal is set for, you do have the potential to save a decent amount of extra money to pay off your credit card during that time frame.
By following these steps and saving tips, you can gain the momentum you need to start paying off your current debt. With credit card debt being one of the easiest types of credit to accumulate, devising a plan and setting a time line for paying it off, is certainly worth the time and the effort.
As the sun sets on another fun-filled Summer season, starting your Fall off with a reduced credit card debt load will also mean that as you are gearing up to celebrate your Labour Day Holiday, you can also feel a lot lighter and less worried about your finances.
