What’s your new year’s resolution? You might be thinking lose some weight or travel more, which are things we could probably help you with, but for now the one resolution we want to focus on is to provide you with tips on how to easily pay off holiday debt:
Send in Payments throughout the Month
If you want to pay down those credit cards sooner, put a payment towards them every time you get paid. Track your purchases and if you skipped buying that shirt you liked or decided to take a month off of Netflix use those funds to pay your debts. Before scheduling payments, check with your credit card issuer to see if your second payment automatically goes towards next month’s payment or if you have to call in to note where you want the payment to go.
Get a Side Job
What else are you going to do when you need to pay off some debt? You either save or have to find it some other way. The good thing about this, is that today’s world provides you with an endless list of options on how to make some side cash. Whether you want to pick up a couple rides on Uber or Lyft or want to sell something on Poshmark, making a couple extra bucks in the beginning of the year to pay off holiday credit card debt shouldn’t be too difficult.
Consider a Balance Transfer
It’s possible to open a new credit card and transfer the balance in order to take advantage of an intro period (generally 0%), however we wouldn’t recommend this as a first option. If you have a lot of debt, you might not be approved to cover it all or for just as much, which would max out the card and that’s typically not the proper way to improve credit. The other thing is that if you’re going to use this method you have to be disciplined and not charge on the card. If you can jump over those hurdles, this method may be the one for you.
Pay it off with a Loan
This method is common when you want to consolidate debt, get rid of it and at a lower rate than credit cards. These loans are normally a personal loan, which means you won’t have to put up collateral, however a credit check is required. Before applying check out your credit score to determine if this will be the best option for you.
Holiday debt is never fun, especially when it follows you all the way into the New Year. Start thinking about how you can get rid of it as easily as possible now, so that it doesn't follow you months into the new year.