5 Secrets to Eliminate Credit Card Debt Quickly

By Kat Tretina Dec. 11, 2024 If you feel like your credit card debt has gotten out of hand, you're not alone.

According to Experian, the average amount of credit card debt per cardholder has increased 10% since 2023, and to many people the debt can feel insurmountable.1

But there are some tips and tricks you can use to take charge of your debt, including debt consolidation and special repayment strategies. These secrets to eliminating credit card debt quickly can allow you to rid yourself of debt once and for all.

Key Takeaways

• If you have debt and only pay the minimum, it can take years to pay off the full balance.
• Strategies like debt consolidation, balance transfers, and the debt avalanche repayment method can accelerate your repayment.
• As of the third quarter of 2024, the average APR for credit cards was over 20%.2
• The average credit card balance was $6,501 in 2024, according to Experian.1

1. Check Your Spending — And Budget

While it may not be glamorous, creating a budget is critical to managing your debt. Knowing exactly how much money you have coming in and how much you spend on essentials and unnecessary purchases alike will help you come up with a plan.

Once a budget is in place, look for areas to cut, such as trimming your entertainment spending or cooking more at home. Using budget and money-tracking apps and reviewing your spending daily will help you stick to your goals.

2. Pay More Than the Minimum Required Amount

Your credit card minimum monthly payment is usually 1% to 3% of your balance. Thanks to interest charges, paying off the balance in full can take years if you only pay the minimum every month.

Paying more than the minimum—even if it's just an extra $10 or $20 per month, whatever you can afford—can reduce the amount of interest that accrues and allow you to pay off your debt faster. Ideally, it’s best to pay your full statement balance each month, if possible; this can allow you to avoid interest charges entirely.

3. Apply for a Balance Transfer

If you have good credit, applying for a balance transfer credit card can be a smart idea. A promotional balance transfer offer may give you somewhere around 6 to 21 months at 0% APR on transferred balances, giving you time to pay down the debt without accruing any more interest.

Once the promotional period ends, the normal purchase APR will apply to the remaining balance.

4. Apply for a Debt Consolidation Loan or Refinance Loan

Another way to accelerate your debt repayment is to take advantage of a debt consolidation loan or refinance loan. These personal loans typically have much lower rates than credit cards, allowing you to pay off your debt for less overall. If you’re just paying off one credit card, that’s known as refinancing; but you can also pay off multiple credit cards with a single loan, a process known as debt consolidation.

The lower rate and simple payment structure (one payment per month instead of several) could make it easier to pay off your debt ahead of schedule.

If you use a balance transfer or personal loan to pay off credit card debt, commit to using the paid-off credit card responsibly—only charge what you can pay off each month, and pay your full statement balance every month. If you’re worried that you can’t do this, avoid using credit cards entirely.

5. Use the Debt Avalanche or Debt Snowball Repayment Method

The debt avalanche and debt snowball are two popular debt repayment methods. In each strategy, you make the minimum payments on all of your debts while putting extra money toward one account at a time.

With the debt avalanche, you put extra money toward the debt with the highest interest rate. This strategy saves you the most money, but it can take a while to see progress (but then a lot of progress might happen at once, like an avalanche). The snowball method, by contrast, has you put extra money toward the account with the smallest balance—this gives you some quick wins in the beginning, and can be a good way to keep up your motivation.

Both have pros and cons, but either repayment method can allow you to pay off your debt faster than if you were to just make the minimum payment.

If you need help paying off your debt, discuss your situation with a debt relief company, like a credit counseling company, at no charge; in more extreme cases you may consider debt settlement or bankruptcy. Learn more in our guide to debt management.

Article Sources

1. Experian. “Experian Study: Average U.S. Consumer Debt and Statistics.”
2. Federal Reserve Board. “Consumer Credit - G.19.”

Posted: to Wealth Management News on Thu, Dec 12, 2024
Updated: Thu, Dec 12, 2024