5 Tips for Paying off Credit Cards

1) Know what you owe! Sit down, bite the bullet, and assess what you owe. Use some online calculators and see how long it will take you to pay off your balance if you only pay the minimum. This will often scare the *^%~ out of you enough to get your rear in gear! If it doesn't scare you, check your pulse, because a dime towards a visa is a dime too much in my opinion.

2) Negotiate with your creditors. This is a big one. First you can work to reduce your interest rate with your current credit card, this is better for your credit rating. Leveraging credit cards against each other is always a good tactic. If this doesn't work, investigate to find the best interest rate available for the longest period of time. It often costs money to transfer balances to a lower rate card, but if you are serious about paying it off it is likely worth it (do the math so you don't get screwed though). If you have good enough credit try to get a card with 0% interest for a year and you can challenge yourself to pay it off by then.

3) Know when you owe. Pay very close attention to your payment date. One thing that Elizabeth Warren says is that credit cards are known to switch due dates around, hoping to bring in some more late fees. The introductory rates are based on paying on time, so you must set up a fool proof system to pay on time every time. I would advise to set up an automatic monthly payment of at least the minimum and then make additional payments as well, at least you won't be late.

4) Pay early, pay often. Another trick credit cards and banks are known for are delays in applying your payment. Elizabeth Warren also points to a trick I hadn't realized, that banks will make your bill due in some rural place far from where you live so the mail will take it's time. Make sure you payment is in early so you don't get penalized. If you owe a balance I would advise making multiple payments, likely one for each pay period, your monthly balance will be lower.

5) Pay attention to your bill. What I really mean is watch it like a hawk. The more charges that credit cards add to your bottom line the longer it takes to pay off. Credit cards could invent fees for just about anything. It is worth it to call and get charges taken off whenever possible. In my year of paying off credit cards I must have had several hundred dollars in bogus charges taken off.

Keep with it!

Miel