Feb 24
Now that I have money coming in steadily, what is the best way to pay off my credit card? Should I make a payment weekly as I get the funds, or should I pay a certain amount more each month when the bill is due?
I have not missed any payments yet. I have only been able to pay the minimum lately and I want to get back to a zero balance.
make sure you pay more than the interest amount. A lot of the time the payment is only enough to pay the interest. So maybe interest amount plus what ever you could afford. Weekly sounds good because most of them are on a daily interest rate.
No – Do not send money weekly. A lot of credit card companies are not set up to take payments whenever you want to send them. You would be better off sending the most you can when you receive the bill.
The debt-snowball method is probably the best way to do it.
The basic steps in the debt snowball method are as follows:
List all debts in ascending order from smallest balance to largest. This is the method’s most distinctive feature, in that the order is determined by amount owed, not the rate of interest charged. However, if two debts are very close in amount owed, then the debt with the higher interest rate would be moved above in the list.
Commit to pay the minimum payment on every debt.
Determine how much extra can be applied towards the smallest debt.
Pay the minimum payment plus the extra amount towards that smallest debt until it is paid off.
Then, add the old minimum payment from the first debt to the extra amount, and apply the new sum to the second smallest debt.
Repeat until all debts are paid in full.
In theory, by the time the final debts are reached, the extra amount paid toward the larger debts will grow quickly, similar to a snowball rolling downhill gathering more snow (thus the name). The theory works as much on human psychology as it does on finance; by paying the smaller bills first, the individual, couple, or family sees fewer incoming payment requests as more bills are paid off, thus giving the impression that they are making headway towards debt elimination.
You should make payments with the money as you get it. This will alleviate you the temptation of putting the payments off or spending the money on something else. Check out this Dave Ramsey site for you great financial tips!!
Not weekly…. the paperwork may not be filed correctly simply because they are not set for weekly payments. Pay when you get a bill, but pay as much as you possibly can. When you get to balance zero, pay the balance in full each month to keep a good credit score. For now, retire that card until you have it paid.
definitely pay more than the minimum or as much as you can afford to at once b/c interest still accumulates until you pay it in full and that’s what gets you. something that you charged for 100 bucks might end up costing 500 by the time you pay it off. + if you pay it off quickly you will have a better credit score.
Many credit cards allow online payment, and some even allow you to make more than one payment monthly. I know mine do.
Personally I make just one large payment, but if you have self control issues and can’t keep the money hanging around till it’s time to make the payment then yes I think you should make multiple payments when you can.
Pay as much as you can each month when you get the bill.
1. Use the credit card only when absolutely essential. Pay your regular expenses by cash or a debit card. This will help you budget and not go overboard with credit card debt.
2. Follow repayment schedules like religion. Don’t miss out and invite late payment fees, increased APR rates and blocked reward programs.
3. Don’t stick to the monthly minimum payment. Pay the maximum you can afford and get that outstanding debt cleared as fast as possible. By just paying the monthly minimum the credit card companies reap the maximum rewards while, as a consumer you pay the maximum interest.
4. Get rid of multiple credit cards. Although this might sound difficult, but if you are struggling to repay on time and, juggling with the repayment dates is causing you to default- it’s time to think. If there is a genuine need to keep multiple credit cards, then try to automate their monthly payments. This will ensure that you don’t default unwillingly and face the negative consequences. Read more from: