4 Ways To Pay Off Your Credit Card Debt in 6 Months
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Gary Dudak
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
Credit card debt can happen to almost anyone, for almost any reason. Factors such as job loss, medical issues or sudden unforeseen expenses can contribute to it. Regardless of the reasons, being in credit card debt can still carry an unfortunate social stigma that can make people feel like they’ll never climb their way out of it.
Credit card debt doesn’t have to be quicksand pulling you down into doom, though. With the right strategy and input from experts, you can take tangible steps to pay down certain amounts of debt in a surprisingly short time. GOBankingRates talked to some financial experts to get advice about how you can pay down debt within only six months.
Track Spending To Learn Where You Can Cut
You can’t get to where you need to go if you don’t take a first step. For Ben Klesinger, co-founder and CEO of Reliant Insurance Group and Helping Hand Financial, this first step should be tracking your income and expenses for one month to identify unnecessary spending.
Once you’ve determined where you can cut spending, develop a detailed budget that directs that discretionary funds back toward your credit card debt.
“Cutting down on dining out or streaming services can free up extra money,” he said. “One client managed to reallocate $200 per month just by reducing their coffee shop visits.”
If the thought of manually writing down everything you spend feels a bit overwhelming, you can also turn to technology for a helping hand. Sean Fox, president of debt resolution at Achieve advised you to find a budgeting app that you like to help track your spending.
“Make sure you select [an app] that connects all financial accounts to give you a unified view of your finances, automatically tracks spending and organizes your finances into categories,” he added.
Be Reasonable in Your Budget
Though you may be tempted to make massive cuts all at once simply to pay everything off as fast as you can, Fox advised against this approach. If your plan is too aggressive for you to commit to, you might thwart yourself in your efforts to get out of debt.
“You need to do your research and figure out a realistic plan that you can commit to. Each person will be different,” he said. “The ‘realistic’ part is important. Many people anxious to work their way out of debt start out by cutting expenses so drastically and/or jumping into a program so quickly that there’s no way they will be able to stick to it.”
Fox added that you should also be flexible to help stay hopeful about your abilities to pay down your credit card debt. If your six-month goal was too optimistic, be willing to adjust it. Paying down a portion of your debt in six months is still an accomplishment and it gets you further to paying everything else off down the line.
Apply the Snowball Method
Klesinger said that once you have a clear sense of what you need to pay back, you can try the debt snowball method. Prioritize paying off your smallest debt first as you make minimum payments on larger debts. Once you’ve paid off your smallest debt, redirect your funds toward the next smallest debt until you’ve paid everything off.
“This psychological win can keep you motivated. I had a client with $3,000 in total credit card debt use this method to clear their balances in five months,” he added.
Work Toward Smaller Interest Rates
According to Klesinger, one of the more effective ways to help quickly pay down your debt if you have high interest rates is to seek a balance transfer offer with a 0% introductory APR. He added that this move can help you save on interest and pay down your principal much faster.
You should make sure you can pay off the transferred balance within the promotional period. However, this technique can help you become debt-free faster than you might have anticipated.
“One case I handled involved a client transferring $4,000 to a 0% APR card, saving them over $500 in interest and helping them clear their debt in six months,” said Klesinger.
More From GOBankingRates
