How To Pay Off All Your Credit Card Debts

Have you found yourself with more debt that you can handle?

Have you tried to repay your credit card debts and failed over and over again?

Well, let me show you how to pay off your credit card debt once and for all.

A recent study found that nearly 18% of 18-24-year olds use their credit card every day. 21% depend on a credit card to pay their bills. 21% use credit to cover the cost of everyday living.

This is alarming to read but the truth is, that was me at one point too.

I’ll show you the method I used to pay back £3,000 credit card debt.

First, I’m an advocate of having at least £1,000 saved for emergencies before starting on this journey to be debt free.

I know you’re thinking how can I save money when I’m in debt, but this money will be your personal interest-free credit card.

Although I don’t subscribe to the fully deprive yourself to pay off debt mindset, certain things like investing should not be a priority whilst repaying your debts.

The Mindset To Being Debt Free

The first step is to see your credit card debt for what it is…debt!

This means if you live on your credit card, change your lifestyle and your habits so that your credit card is not paying for your lifestyle. Paying off your credit whilst using it is like putting water in a bottle with holes.

Seeing your credit card as debt psychologically separates your approach to it! You won’t see it is as your trusted friend to your finances but rather as an enemy of progress.

The whole point of paying off debt is to be free from the obligation that debt puts on your financially (and often emotionally too). Debt robs us of the freedom to do life as we want and to put all our money to what matters to us.

Most people fail to recognise the importance of this and as a result they tack debt whilst continuing to live on that debt. 

If debt is funding your lifestyle, make the change today!

How To Pay Off All Your Credit Card Debts

Disown your credit card

Your credit card is not your friend.

Let me say it again for the people in the back — your credit card is NOT your friend!

Friends don’t frustrate you, make you feel stupid, or bring shame to your finances. Well, good friends anyway.

Another key step in paying off your credit cards is to disown the card itself.

It’s so easy to see the amount you owe as debt but still hold dear to the card itself. I’m just going to say it, that card is not the one. Trust me.

In other words, disowning the card for you may be to cut the card and get rid of it, or put the card away at the back of the drawer or under the bed.

Get rid of the card from your immediate view, and definitely don’t take it with you when you step outside the house.

Now that we’ve dealt with your mindset and your thinking towards credit card debts, lets get to the practical aspects.

Work out your numbers

Before we take any action it’s time to plan!

Get all your credit cards and put them on the table and let’s do basic numbers.

Knowing your numbers is the foundation of any financial plan you make, and being debt free starts by understanding what that debt is! Simply paying more money towards all your debt without a plan is not the best way to approach it.

Failing to plan is planning to fail

To make it easier for you, I’ve created a Credit Card Debt List PDF to get you started, you can fill in your numbers within Adobe or print it off. However, you can do it by yourself as well we’re not getting very technical here so don’t panic.

The numbers we’re concerned with are all about the credit card such as credit limit, how much is owed, and the minimum monthly payments.

Once you have those numbers listed you can then see the full picture of your credit card debts. For instance, you’ll be able to see how much altogether your debts add up to, which cards have the highest interest and how much all your minimum payments added up are each month.

This will help you to know what you are dealing with and will inform your approach to how you begin paying these off.

Plan your approach

There are many debt repayment methods that you can choose from to pay off your credit card debts. However, the 2 most famous methods are debt snowball and debt avalanche. 

In a nutshell, debt snowball is paying off your debts staring from the lowest debt amount owed to the largest. Debt avalanche is when you start with the debt that has the highest interest rate to the lowest.

For me I’d say if you are motivated by emotions and would get more motivation from paying off a debt — then snowball is for you.

If you are motivated by numbers and would get more motivated by saving the most money from interest owed — the avalanche is for you.

If you’re a bit of both, then mix and match your approach.

Above all, it doesn’t matter what you choose as long as you actually choose an approach that works for you!

Pay Off Credit Card Debts

We’ve done the heavy lifting both mentally and numerically. Now let’s go!

Put your plan into action and start paying off your debts according to your approach.

The best thing to do here is to automate the process as much as possible. Automating your debt repayments makes the process so much easier and takes away the temptation to slack.

During this moment keep track of your progress and monitor your plan. 

Due to the nature of credit cards and life in general, changes can happen anytime. There may be times where you need to make adjustments and allocate your money differently. 

If you come across more money from somewhere and there is no immediate need for it consider putting that towards paying off your credit card debt.

Keep your eyes on the prize

The journey will seem long and frustrating along the way. Trust me I’ve been there!

Keep your eyes towards the goal of being debt free and you’ll get there. 

At the beginning I spoke about changing your lifestyle to stop living on debt or to free up more money towards being debt free. Truth is there will be times when you will ask yourself why you’re depriving yourself of certain luxuries.

There will be times when you see other’s living their best life and you’re wondering when you will be able to do the same. Should you fail along the way a few times, it’s okay! Missing a month or two here and there because of Christmas, or medical emergencies is totally understandable.

Keep thinking about your progress and your end goal to where you want to end up, and you will get there.

Remember why you started along the journey and you’ll get the fuel to keep going.

Take Action

Save this method and keep referring back to it as you’re on your journey to repay your credit card debts.

Share this with your friend, family, or partner and help each other tackle those credit cards. 

Get in touch with us and let us know how you’re getting on with your credit card debts. We’d love to hear from you

Knowledge is powerless without action

So take action, and take care

Thando