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There are credit card payment solutions even when you’re in a financial crunch. It takes discipline to get your credit debt under control, but there are things you can do to help. Follow these simple steps to manage your payments when you’re in trouble.
Stop Using Your Cards
If you’re already in financial trouble then adding more debt is just silly. If you can’t pay cash for something, you don’t need it. Get a budget set up and stick to it. It’s easy to pull the plastic out of your wallet to make a purchase, but with the interest rates it’s really not worth it if you’re already in trouble.
Transfer Your Balances
If you have a few cards with high interest rates start looking in to balance transfer options before your credit score tanks. If you can transfer the balances from even just one card to a card with a lower rate, or an introductory rate, you can save quite a bit of money. Since the new card has a lower rate, you aren’t going to be penalized as much for carrying a balance. You can often find introductory rates that are very low, and sometimes 0% for a certain number of months. These extra months at the lower rate can end up saving you thousands in the long run. Try to find these offers with a card that will give you a high enough line of credit to transfer as much of your debt as possible.
Call the Credit Card Companies
A simple phone call can often help ease your financial woes. If you have a balance of $4000 and are having a hard time making payments, see if they will consider taking $3000 and closing the account. This doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a shot. Most of the time, the success of your call will depend on the company you hold the card with. Remember, if they say no, it is still your debt. If they allow you to negotiate, the account will end up being closed and will reflect on your credit as such.
Interest Rate Reduction
Lowering your interest rate will decrease the payments you have to make every month. Sometimes this is enough of a solution to help you through the financial problems. Just contact the financial institution that carries your card and find out if you are eligible. As long as your account has been in good standing for at least a year chances are pretty good they can work with you. If they aren’t able to lower the rate ask for an explanation. The company is usually more than happy to offer one, and it’s usually something that is easy for you to fix. If they can’t offer a rate reduction because your account defaulted at one point, then you will at least know how many more months you have to wait to qualify for a rate reduction.
Find Extra Money
There are plenty of things you can do every day to save money by freeing up extra money. You can use that savings to pay your credit card debt. Small things like carpooling, sticking to a grocery list, not eating out at restaurants, taking your lunch to work, and trading your gas guzzler in for a smaller car can all help free up extra money every month.
Credit Card Payment Solutions For When You're In Trouble
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