If you feel financially stressed because you’re carrying a significant amount of credit card debt, you’re not alone. Carrying around excess debt may put you in the company of millions, but everyday people can breathe a little easier after using a credit card payoff calculator to reverse the trend.
A credit card payoff calculator proves an invaluable tool that provides consumers with hard financial numbers and a pathway back to a manageable budget. Users type in the fields that correspond to their credit card statement and the minimum monthly payment. This field can be adjusted to reduce the number of months it would require to achieve a zero balance on the account.
Savvy calculator users often get creative with the numbers they input in an effort to speed their debt reduction. While there are no gimmicks to make the debt go away, there are several strategies that simplify and streamline the process
Financial planning experts typically support two strategies for paying down debt across multiple cards. The first is called the “Debt Snowball Method,” and the second is commonly known as the “Debt Avalanche Method.” Both are designed to help overwhelmed consumers alleviate excess debt and reduce high credit utilization (almost fulfilling the allowable money available), which lowers credit scores.
Debt Snowball Method: This technique involves making minimum payments on all your credit card accounts except one. Take as much money as you can reasonably spare and focus it on the account with the lowest balance. The credit card payoff calculator may prove inspirational as the number of months to zero shrinks. Once that card has been washed clean of debt, tuck it away in a drawer and don’t use it. Then target the new lowest balance and continue to repeat the cycle.
Consider running the numbers through the credit card payoff calculator and decide which of the methods suits your financial situation and repayment habits. Another practice community members find successful involves credit card consolidation. In many ways, it delivers the best of both strategies' benefits.
Employing a debt consolidation strategy generally involves bringing wide-reaching debt into one account that allows people to make one simple monthly payment. People with high-interest credit cards can apply for a low-rate VISA® and transfer balances into this lower-rate account. This provides immediate interest payment relief and allows cardholders to pay off balances at an accelerated pace.
Low-rate VISA® credit card users can transfer part or all of their outstanding credit card debt and focus on just one balance. It’s also not uncommon to pay off other higher interest rate debt and save money through consolidation. Some examples of other higher interest rate debt may include personal loans, auto loans, or other credit cards that were secured for specific purposes or purchases. Although this debt-elimination technique may seem more complicated than the other methods, it can deliver the following enhanced benefits: