The NerdWallet 2015 American Household Credit Card Debt Study found that the average household has $15,355 of credit card debt (and $129,579 in total debt, including mortgages).
Okay, I want to be very blunt. Credit card debt is one of the worst forms of debt you can have. It is right up there with a payday loan or a car title loan, just not as expensive. Listen to me. You should never carry a balance on a credit card. That is financial madness! If you are in the average of this survey and have $15,355 of debt on your card balances, you need to stop using you cards, make a plan to pay them off completely and never get into the situation again. So how do you accomplish that you might be asking? Here you go.
- Save $1000 in cash. Put it in an Emergency Savings Account. This will keep you from falling back on your cards for unexpected expenses.
- Put the credit cards in a zip lock plastic bag and hide them from yourself. Stop using them.
- Start living on a budget so you can either reduce expenses or increase income to have enough money to be able to pay more than your minimum payment to reduce the balance as soon as possible.
- Attack the balance on the most expensive card first. That is from where the pain comes! Get that one paid off and use the Snowball Method to attack the next one!
- Ask God to give you the strength, the courage and the perseverance to do it! It is crazy to be in bondage.
Now, if you have excessive credit card debt and you think it is impossible to pay it back without some help, our friends at Christian Credit Counselors are experts at this. They can help you pay it back at a lower interest rate. Learn more about their service at Crown.org. Also, consider working with one of our MoneyLife® Coaches to help you get on track! We are here to help!
