It is easy to allow your credit card debt to pile up over the summer. With summer activities, that include weekend getaways, summer camps for kids or simply covering expenses. If your income happens to be lower over the summer months, using the credit card more than normal can be par for the course.
As back to school approaches and summer comes to an end, many realize just how high their credit card balances have grown. It is time to take stock to determine where you stand financially. Rather than bury your head in the sand, take a look at your credit card statement(s) to see what your current balances are, the interest rate and how long it would take you to pay should you only make your minimum monthly payments. Look at your budget and determine how much you have each month to commit to debt repayment and not just the minimum monthly payments.
The key with debt repayment is making the payment and not using the credit cards again until you have your debt under control. If you find that as soon as you have made your credit card payments, you need to use the credit card again, to cover your monthly bills or groceries, you may be in deeper trouble than you anticipated.
If you have extra money to earmark for paying off debt, you can focus those payments to get out of debt sooner. If all your debt is on one card, that is easy: you can focus on paying that card. If your debt is spread out over numerous cards, then you first need to make the minimum monthly payment on each of them before deciding where to put the extra funds. The two most talked about ways are to first pay off the debt with the highest interest. The second is to pay off the debt with the smallest balance. Once you’ve got your payment schedule set, make a budget for extra expenses that come up throughout the year for holidays, celebrations and summer fun.
For those of you who cannot stick to the payment schedule because your cash flow is just too tight, and find that your credit card debts are too overwhelming, speak with a professional today at D. Thode & Associates Inc. Our Licensed Insolvency Trustees will advise you of your options in dealing with your debt including bankruptcy and consumer proposals. We can help to get your debt both lowered and structured into a single monthly payment so that you can focus on your future financial goals.
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