Explore Credit Union Personal Loans
There are over 500 credit unions in Britain, so almost everyone has access to one.
Loans from credit unions are generally cheaper than loans from most other providers for smaller amounts and do not incur set-up fees, administration costs or early redemption fees.
Many credit union loans, for example, cost 1% a month on the reducing balance of a loan .
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Use Your Assets To Pay Off Cards
If you have assets such as savings and non-retirement investments that you could use to pay down high-interest credit cards, it may make sense. Just remember that you still need a healthy cash reserve, such as six months worth of living expenses.
If you dont have any or enough emergency money saved, dont dip into your savings to pay off credit card debt. Also, consider what you could sell such as unused sporting goods, jewelry, or a vehicle to raise cash and increase your financial cushion.
See If Youre Eligible For The Mortgage Interest Support
If youre on certain benefits such as universal credit or pension credit then you may be eligible to apply for Government help to pay your mortgage interest.
The government will pay the interest on up to £200,000 of your mortgage, direct to your mortgage lender. However, they wont make capital repayments. But bear in mind the loan needs to be paid back from equity in your house when you come to sell.
Find out more: to check if you might be eligible and to find out how to apply, Money Helper has a useful guide on the Support for Mortgage Interest Scheme.
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% Balance Transfer Credit Card
It might seem counterintuitive to apply for a credit card when your main goal is to get out of credit card debt, but 0% balance transfer cards can help save you money in the long run. Find a card that offers a long 0% introductory period preferably 15 to 18 months and transfer all of your outstanding credit card debt to that one account. You’ll have one simple payment each month, and you wont pay interest.
Pay More Than Once A Month
Pay your credit card bills more than the required once per month. This may make it easier to stay on track of how much you owe. Paying your credit card bill regularly may also lower your balance/utilization ratio. The credit utilization ratio is the percentage of your total available credit that is currently being used. The utilization ratio is one of the components used by credit reporting agencies to calculate your credit score.
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Switch Your Insurance To Cut Your Costs
Remaining loyal to any one insurer year after year will only hurt your pocket. Insurance deals, whether it be for your home, car or annual travel policies will be better for new customers.
So you should make sure youre not unnecessarily increasing your outgoings by spending more than you need on insurance. A few weeks before your policy comes up for renewal, look around for the best deal that works for you.
Find out more:best and worst insurance whatever youre looking to insure we explain how to find the best deals.
Tips To Pay Off Your Credit Card Faster
Rod Dickinson
Weighed down by credit card debt? Youre not alone. In 2019, the average credit card balance in Australia was over $3,300, and a whopping $45 billion was owed nationwide.
But even if youre feeling mired in debt, you can start taking steps immediately to extricate yourself from monthly interest payments and . With these ten tips, you can pay off your credit card faster and achieve the freedom youre craving.
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Ways To Pay Off Credit Card Debt Fast
This is a great time to get out of credit card debt. The economy is starting to work its way back to normalcy following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the average Americans personal savings rate has jumped to record levels.
Still, many people are stuck with high-interest credit card debt a burden that will only worsen when the Federal Reserve increases interest rates as early as next year.
In other words, the time to get to work whittling down that debt is now especially if you were able to save money over the course of the pandemic. Here are six smart strategies to help you out.
A Top Intro Apr Balance Transfer Credit Card
Applying for a balance transfer card is very easy: find the best card for you, fill out a quick five-minute application, and check the mail for details on making payments to the new card.
Heres one card we highly recommend:
One great way to save money on interest is to transfer your balance to a card with a 0% introductory APR. Youll get a little extra time to work on paying off your balance! The offers 0% for 21 months on Balance Transfers from date of first transfer and 0% for 12 months on Purchases after you open the account.
Balance transfers must be completed within the first 4 months of account opening and the ongoing APR is 13.74% – 23.74% .
Best if: You want a great introductory offer.
Keep looking if: You want a card you can earn rewards with after youve paid off your balance.
Good to Excellent. Youll need at least five years of credit history. This usually equates with a FICO score of 700 or better.
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Paying Only The Minimum
The least aggressive debt payoff method is making only the minimum payments. Experts advise you only pay the minimums when your main goals are to keep your account from falling into delinquency and to protect your credit score from being dinged if you consistently miss payments.
Nonetheless, paying the minimum is still better than paying nothing at all, and it’s easy to automate your credit card payments so that you can expect the same amount to be withdrawn from your bank account each month. When you use autopay, you can guarantee your payment is made on time, which is a huge factor in having a good credit score.
The biggest downside to paying only the minimum is that you will continue to accrue additional interest as long as you are carrying a balance month to month. The longer you carry a balance, the more interest you accrue and the bigger your debt load becomes.
When you only pay the minimum each month, not all of your payment always goes toward your principal depending on how your issuer calculates your minimum payment, a portion of it could go toward interest. This makes it harder to completely pay off your debt.
For example, CNBC Select looked into how much it would cost the average American if they only made minimum payments on a credit card balance of $6,194 with an interest rate of 16.61%. It would take approximately 17 years and three months to completely pay off the debt and the cardholder would pay a whopping $7,286 in interest alone.
Use Credit Cards As A Tool Not A Crutch
Paying off debt is one thing, but staying debt-free can be just as challenging. Credit cards can be a powerful tool or a crushing financial burden on your shoulders it ultimately depends on how you use them.
Nelson used credit cards as a crutch for a long time. Now that shes free of credit card debt, she no longer relies on credit to cover essential bills, and instead uses her credit cards as a financial tool to build credit and earn rewards.
Im still using my credit cards I just make sure Im paying my balance in full every month and show a zero balance, she says.
Nelson was able to figure out a plan that worked for her, and in seven months, paid off a credit card balance that she had been carrying for almost a decade. If youre trying to pay down credit card debt, the best thing you can do is make a plan and get started.
It was a huge sacrifice, but it was worth it. I would do it again, says Nelson. Im now using the $1,000 I was putting toward extra credit card payments to build wealth and invest. The whole experience just helped me out so much.
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Budget Wisely And Track Your Spending
If you dont already have a set budget that you follow, now might be the time to start. Make sure your budget includes any non-negotiables, such as rent, utilities, food, and loans first, as these categories take priority. Then you can determine how much money you can realistically spend on your credit card each month with respect to your discretionary categories.
When your budget is in place, use it to track your spending over the course of the month. You can either do this manually by taking stock of your spending every few days or perhaps once a week or by using a budgeting app.
Reevaluate the budget youve created for yourself in two months to make sure you accounted for all of your spending accurately. Then, going forward, make a habit of checking in with your accounts regularly.
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How Can I Pay Off My Credit Card With High Interest
If you want to reduce the balance faster, but can’t afford to substantially increase your monthly payments, try the following:
Even if you don’t qualify for a lower interest rate or promotional credit card offer, call your lender and work out what amount you can afford to pay on the high interest rate card over time, and put that amount on auto-pay. Then cut up your card so that you’re not tempted to add any purchases to the balance.
Get Help If Youre In Hardship
If you need to pay for certain important costs and are claiming some benefits such as income support or pension credit you might be eligible for a budgeting loan.
This will be small only up to £812 and will be paid back as a deduction from your benefits.
You may also be able to get support from your local council. Use the search engine provided by charity Lasa to see whats available in your postcode area.
Find out more: theres a helpful list of financial support you may be able to get from this government website.
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Why It’s Important To Pay Off A Credit Card Quickly
The longer you have an outstanding balance on a credit card, the more interest you’ll rack up on your debt, making it cost more. If your credit card has a high interest rate attached to it, then it’s even more important to try to pay off your balance as soon as you can. You can use this to see how much interest your balance may be costing you.
Paying off a credit card fast can also help your credit score improve. One factor that goes into calculating your score is your , which measures the amount of available revolving credit you’re using at once. Even if you make your minimum payment on time every month, your credit score could go down if you carry too high a balance.
Reduce Your Council Tax Payments
If youre paying council tax you may be able to reduce how much you pay.
For example, if youre living alone, disabled or on a low income, theres a host of council tax discounts available to you.
You can also appeal your council tax if you believe the bill is wrong, or believe that your home has been placed in the wrong council tax band.
Find out more: claiming refunds and challenging your tax band.
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Make A Note Of All The Debts To Be Paid
Instead of looking at your credit card bill at once, which is a lot, break it down into smaller parts. This helps you to categorize it. If you hold more than one credit card, it is advisable to pay off the bill which is on priority.
Now how do you differentiate which bill needs to be paid first? It depends on two criteria which is the interest rate of the card and the outstanding bill.
If you have only one credit card and a total bill of Rs.20,000 for example. It is a better strategy if you divide it into 4. This becomes easier if you see and know that you must pay Rs.5,000 instead of Rs.20,000 at a whole.
The Snowball Debt Repayment Method
The snowball method for paying off debt looks like this: list out each credit product you have, from lowest balance to highest. Make minimum payments on all products except for the one with the lowest balance as this is the one youll focus on. Lets say you have four credit products . Well call them A, B, C, and D. Take all of your extra money and put it onto product A, while making minimum payments on products B, C, and D. Keep this going until you have paid off product A. Then take all of the money you were putting on product A and now put it onto product B while making minimum payments on products C and D. When B is paid off, move everything over to C until its paid off. And finally, put everything youve got available on product D until its paid off.
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Work With Your Creditors
Reach out to your creditors to explain your situation. A credit card issuer may be willing to negotiate payment terms or offer a hardship program, especially if youre a longtime customer with a good track record of payments.
If your issuer offers a hardship program, it may provide relief when circumstances beyond your control like unemployment or illness impact your ability to manage payments. Whether you negotiate with your issuer or accept the terms of a hardship program, either option could lead to more affordable interest rates or waived fees, depending on the issuer.
These small changes might be just enough to help you get a handle on your debt, and the worst that can happen is they say no.
Reduce Spending By Tightening Your Budget
Nobody likes to hear this, but one of the easiest ways to quickly pay off debt is to throw more money at it every month.This means finding new ways to save, like canceling your cable TV or reducing the number of nights you order takeout. Anytime you can make more than the minimum payment on your credit card bills, youre one step closer to being debt-free.
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Take Care Of Your Mental Health
Approximately one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year and worrying about debt or money can exacerbate the problem.
The good news is there are steps you can take to improve the situation youre in, even if you currently feel unable to take even the tiniest of steps.
Find out more: mental health charity Mind has a wealth of useful information, and a supportive Side by Side community.
Strategically Pay Off Credit Card Balances
The percentage of your credit limit that you are making use of at any time is known as the credit utilization. An excellent guideline is to use less than 30 percent of your limit on any credit card, and the lower limit is preferred. The top scorers are those who use less than 7 percent.
It is important to ensure that your balance isnt too high at the time that the credit card company submits it to the credit bureaus because this is whats used to calculate your score. An easy way to achieve this is to pay off the balance prior to when the billing cycle is over or pay it off several times throughout the month in order to ensure that your balance is kept low.
Impact: Very influential. Credit utilization is the second most significant aspect of your credit score. The most important factor is making payments on time.
Time commitment: low to medium. Create reminders on your calendar to sign in and pay. It is also possible to create alerts for your credit card account to notify you be aware when your balance reaches an amount you have set.
The speed at which it could be completed Its fast. Once your credit card report lower balances to the credit bureaus, the less utilization will be considered to calculate your score.
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Cut Back On Your Credit Cards
If you have multiple credit cards, plan to reduce the number you have.
Try setting yourself a goal to pay off one card at a time. Start with either of these:
- Smallest debtPaying off the card with the smallest debt first helps motivate you to keep going. Once you’ve paid that off, move onto the next smallest debt.
- Highest interest rateIf one of your cards has a much higher interest rate, consider paying off that one first. Then pay off your other cards one by one.
Whichever option you choose:
- Keep making the minimum payments on all your cards.
- Use only one of your cards, and try to keep it just for emergencies.
- Cancel each credit card once you’ve paid it off.