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- BBB A+ Rating & Accredited
- $300 Million Debt Settled
- $8,000 Minimum Debt
- 25th best financial firm, USA (INC Magazine)
- Minimum Debt $7,500
- $ 3 Billion Plus Debt Resolved
Funding Hawk knows that paying off your unsecured debt is one of the best investments you can make. A Funding Hawk consolidation loan allows you to pay less interest, get out of debt faster, and start focusing on other goals… Like building a savings account, college fund, or a big family vacation. Funding Hawk is made up of real people who want to make your life better. Live a debt-free life with Funding Hawk.
Credit cards offer a way to handle all your expenses without the hassle of using paychecks. However, unpaid credit card bills have high-interest rates, which make your financial situation tougher than you may have imagined.
In the present day, every other individual is paying credit card debt by the end of the month. Although it’s common to get confused, hence, we are here to tell you various strategies you can employ that will help you in reducing your credit card debt. Read below to find out how to bring balance to your financial situation.
1. Be Aware Of Your Budget
If you are not aware of your budget, this is the first step you need to focus on. Track your income, compare it with your expenses and understand how it has been attacking your credit card debt.
You can always find a worksheet online or make a Google sheet to help you track your finances. You can calculate how much you earn and what you spend every month. You can add your minimum payments and keep a record of them throughout. In turn, you will constantly be aware of your earnings and where you spend them.
2. Keep a Track of Your Debt
“If you want to attack your credit card debt, you need to know your debts first,” said Brad Greenstein of MyFundingHawk.com Calculate exactly how much you owe for every month. Also, be aware of the amount of interest your card charges and that will be the key to determining your unpaid debts. Once you are aware of these credit card details, you will be ready for determining the plan of working through your credit card debt. Subsequently, you will progress to the next step which is paying off your credit card debt.
3. Choose Your Debt Reduction Plan of Action
Once you are aware of your budget and debt, you are ready to plan for your reduction strategy. Two strategies that you can opt for are as follows:
The snowball method
This method targets the smallest current balance on your credit card. You can assign the minimum payment to your other cards, but you also have to use whatever is available from your month’s budget to pay the smallest overall debt for any of your credit cards.
After you have covered your unpaid debts which had the smallest balance, you can utilize the same budget and apply it to the next credit card which has the smallest payment out of all.
The avalanche method
The avalanche method is quite different from the snowball method. The snowball attacks the smallest debt, whereas the avalanche method works on reducing your credit card debt by attaching the card that has the highest annual percentage rate (APR), in easier terms, the interest rate.
Choose a method that fits you best
Either one of the two methods can help you tackle your credit card debts. However, you need to have a full understanding of your debt and your credit card balances.” added Peter Myers, a Funding Hawk loan specialist. Another way to go about unpaid bills is using both strategies and switching between the two. This helps when your available budget and motivation fluctuate.
4. Automate Your Payments
Regardless of whichever plan of action, you choose below, automating your payments is necessary. It helps you commit to your monthly budget for paying off your credit card debts. Moreover, as you automate your payments you can rearrange your payment dates so they are realigned with your paychecks.
5. Research Alternate Ways to Help You Pay off Credit Card Debts
After completing your budget calculation, if you have discovered that you can’t work towards reducing your unpaid debt or you have too many accounts, you might want to look into other sources. Managing can get difficult with our busy lives, hence we recommend many strategies, some of which are as follows.
Debt counseling services
This service can be availed from the comfort of your home. A debt counselor will evaluate your earnings and overall debt to help you build a strategy to get a zero balance. They also have resources and connections and can leverage them to get you lower settlements or interest rates than existing ones.
See If You Qualify for Credit Card Relief
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Balance transfer credit cards
This method is quite useful for certain individuals. However, there are things to be considered before applying for one. These things include the transfer fees, the worthiness of the credit card, and much more. Most of these cards will provide their APR hence moving your balance from a high APR to a low APR will help you reduce the interest rate, thus paying less each month.
Debt consolidation loans
You can also opt for a debt consolidation loan. This will help you pay off your credit card loans and rearrange your finances to pay them off all at once. You can also rearrange it to pay off your debt at lower interest rates. Moreover, to apply you need a strong credit card score and also to earn lower interest rates than your card’s APR
6. Work towards a Sustainable Credit Lifestyle
Get in the habit of being aware of your credit problems and raising your credit score. Often, people just check their credit card debts when a problem arises. As you work towards paying your debts, it is best to understand ways that are sustainable and healthy for your credit card payment. Consequently, you will not be stitched in a credit crisis and will help you build a strong credit score, in case you ever require a loan.
7. Frozen or Locked Accounts
The key to debt reduction is to hold off your purchase so that there is no addition to the balance. To stay away from overspending, you can get your accounts frozen or locked. In this case, your account will remain open but you will not be able to buy anything. This will keep the debt collectors away.
This will be beneficial for three elements of your credit score, which are as follows:
- Credit utilization ratio: this is a ratio of your total debt divided by your credit card’s limit.
- Average account age: this is the average time you have had your account open and it grows every month.
- Your credit mix: This is the number of different lines you have open and it stays high if you have many credit accounts.
