The cost of credit card debt may be high. Your credit card debt repayment procedure may take decades, and depending on how much you owe, you may wind up spending thousands of dollars in interest.
The cost of credit card debt may be high. Your credit card debt repayment procedure may take decades, and depending on how much you owe, you may wind up spending thousands of dollars in interest. (Photo : by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Furthermore, you could be paying more for your credit card debt now than you have in the past. Rate increases are occurring simultaneously for credit cards and other lending products and the federal funds rate, which is now halted at a 23-year high. Your mandatory minimum credit card payments have probably gone up as a result.
Dealing with that in the current inflationary climate might be challenging. After all, your budget could already be being squeezed by rising consumer goods and service prices. Additionally, you could be searching for the most affordable strategies to pay off your debt if you're sick of having credit card amounts from month to month. The good news is that you are presented with a variety of possibilities.
Debt Settlement Programs
Credit card debt reduction organizations can lower the cost of your credit card debt in two ways. First, these services usually negotiate better terms from your lenders, which might lead to a reduction in interest rates or credit card debt. Additionally, payment plans created by debt relief service providers are often intended to help you pay off debt as quickly as feasible. Additionally, you can save money on interest if you pay off your bills sooner.
Using a debt relief program may also be less expensive than going the other way, such as filing for bankruptcy, which might involve paying filing fees, legal fees, and other expenses. For instance, unless they settle your debt for less than you owe or in some other way significantly reduce your obligations, debt relief companies are not allowed to charge fees for their services.
Additionally, any fees associated with the debt settlement are usually expressed as a percentage of the amount that was enrolled. These costs might differ depending on the debt relief provider, but they often range from 15% to 25%.
By independently negotiating a reduced interest rate or balance with your credit card company, you may also be able to completely eliminate costs. Do-it-yourself negotiations, however, might not be as effective as those managed by a professional, and the process might take some time to complete.
Customers struggling to make their credit card payments may also be eligible for income-driven repayment plans, also referred to as financial hardship programs, from some credit card providers.
Therefore, calling your lenders might be helpful if you're in a tight spot financially and unable to make your minimal credit card payments. They could be open to temporarily lowering your interest rates and minimum payments, allowing you to save money as you settle your debt.
Furthermore, these kinds of hardship programs are rarely associated with additional costs, making them an affordable means of paying off credit card debt. But, you'll probably only be able to get into this kind of program if you can demonstrate that there is a real demand for it.
Equity Loans for Homes
If you are a house owner, using your equity to pay off credit card debt may be less expensive. For instance, you might be able to borrow against your equity at a reasonable interest rate using a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC), and then utilize the proceeds to pay off credit card debt.
For instance, the average interest rate on a credit card is now above 21%, but the average interest rate on a home equity loan is currently under 9.01%. Therefore, you might be able to drastically lower the cost of paying off your credit card debt by effectively merging your present card balances and utilizing a HELOC to pay them off.
Additionally, a home equity loan can enable you to take advantage of an even lower rate. With the current average home equity loan rate of 8.59%, paying off credit card debt with this kind of loan might result in significant interest savings.
However, it's important to remember that closing expenses for home equity loans, or HELOCs, are usually required. However, the increased costs can be justified in order to get the interest savings that a home equity loan or HELOC might give, depending on the total savings that the lower rate can offer.
