Bharat SainiLast Updated on April 11, 2020 by Bharat Saini
Do you suffer from credit card debt? If so, you are far from alone. Whether it’s due to excess spending that has gone out of hand or a sudden financial emergency, people can have significant debt that weighs down on their mental health.
If you have debt from multiple credit cards and not sure what to do, read on for this quick guide for solving the issue.
Start with a strategy
When you’re ready to take your credit card debt head-on, it all starts with a sound strategy. By having a plan and goal in place, this will supply you with the general guidance needed to keep you – and the debt – in order.
To do this, consider these two strategies:
• Debt snowball: For the uninitiated, a snowball approach is where you use clearing debts as a source of accomplishment. It starts by focusing on the smallest loan first, paying this off in full first. When that’s done, you roll the payment amount you were making into the next smallest loan. The payments gradually get bigger, the amount of loans gets smaller, and it continues until the debt is defeated.
• Debt avalanche: A debt avalanche is similar to the previous method. Yet it swaps the process around a little bit. Rather than going for the smallest loan first, it goes for the one with the biggest interest rate. While it will take longer to wipe out that initial loan, this approach will typically be cheaper and faster for wiping out your debt overall than by snowballing.
Generally speaking, whatever plan you decide to utilize, there is one step you should always take: never simply pay the minimum. This will lead to you paying a lot more back on interest rather than your actual loan. Look for ways to cut down on regular spending so you can put more money forward towards those monthly payments on your debt.
Hire a lawyer to resolve your debt
When you feel trapped in a corner by debt with nowhere to go, there is always help available. Arguably the best example of this is with a skilled and experienced consumer debt attorney.
When you receive assistance from a lawyer, they will be able to analyze the situation accurately and supply practical advice. It could end up with the debt being lowered or dismissed entirely.
A lawyer is especially needed if you’re heading to court due to the debt. You will require quality consumer protection legal help with a lawsuit to win the case and avoid the risk of having to pay additional fees atop the original debt.
Negotiate with your creditors
It might not seem like a plausible solution, but you might be surprised at the willingness of creditors to negotiate your current payment terms. If you are a long-term customer that boasts a track record of making payments on time, a creditor could be open to offering a helping hand.
For instance, they might be able to offer more favorable APR or lower the minimum monthly payments. It may only be a small change in the grand scheme of things, but it could be enough to give you a boost against your battle with debt.
