If you are closer to maxing out than you’d like, cut your debt with these tips.
1. Be honest with how much you owe
First and foremost you need to be honest with how much you actually owe. At the end of most credit card bills it has the total amount owed and how much you’ll actually end up paying, including interest. The best way to tackle the situation is knowing how much to have to pay.
2. Cancel your direct debits
If possible, cancel all direct debits associated with your card as soon as possible. It is easy to add a magazine subscription or even a gym membership to your card so that the monthly outgoings don’t affect what money you have coming in. However, a credit card should be used as an emergency and if you can’t pay it with your income then you can’t afford it.
3. Get rid of it
One of the easiest ways to cut down your debt is to actually get rid of the card. Not having easy access to it or not physically having it anymore will stop you feeling tempted to use or spend on it, and you can gradually start to reduce your debt.
4. Focus on one card at a time
If you have more than one credit card, instead of trying to reduce all of them at the same time focus on one. When dealing with just one at a time it is more manageable to achieve your goal and less daunting.
5. Talk to your bank
Finally, talk to your bank about reducing your interest, changing cards or increasing your monthly repayments (if you can afford it). If you have a good credit rating most banks will be willing to work with you, particularly if you want to pay off the debt, so make an appointment today.
