What's a fast way of paying off credit cards?

Question

What's a fast way of paying off credit cards?

Answer 1

First, stop charging on the cards.

Second, make a strict budget.  Eliminate all the extras -- cell phone, eating out, new clothes, etc.  Put every penny you can squeeze out of your budget on the highest interest rate card, while paying minimum on the rest.  When the highest rate card is paid off, move to the next till they are all paid in full.

Third, find ways to bring in more cash to throw at the debt.  Have a garage sale, collect alum cans, get a second job.

Answer 2

other than lump sum payment try the debt snowball affect.

pay off the smallest balance first then take what you were paying them monthly and add it to the next smallest staying current with all then just continue to work your way up to the top. By paying off the smallest first then you get 1 accomplished at a time and when you complete the snow ball you will get a major sigh of relief

Answer 3

Start with the one with the highest rate first, regardless of the account balances.  Pay as much as you can afford on that one and minimum on the rest.  When that's paid off, move to the next highest rate one. Add to the minimum there what you were paying on the now paid off card.  Pay that amount until it's clear and then move to the next highest rate and repeat the process of adding the previous payment to the minimum on the next target account.

You ALWAYS start with the highest interest rate first, since that's the one that will give you the most benefit.  

And if you have the headroom on the lower rate cards, sweep the balances from the higher rate cards to them first as long as the fees are not too high.  That way you reduce the total interest payable as quickly as possible.

Answer 4

Cash

Answer 5

hello - you can use snowball for sure, but it may make sense to look at how much you owe per card and how much interest you are paying.  so if one of your really big ones has the highest interest, you may want to focus on paying that off first.  At a minimum see if you can transfer any high interest ones to lower interest cards while you pay them off.  and stop using them.  good luck -