Four Ways To Pay Off Your Credit Card Debt
The average household that has at least one credit card is said to have over $15,000 in credit card debt. Oftentimes, this debt becomes unmanageable and plays a huge role in creating financial disasters. Thankfully, there are some ways to get that debt paid off and do so fairly quickly.
1. A Home Equity Loan
If you own a home, you can use any equity you may have in the home and use it to your advantage. Depending upon how much equity you have, you can borrow the money to pay off all of your credit cards. The result will be a lower overall payment as well as far lower interest rates. Credit card interest rates are in the 20 to 30 percent range, typically, where a home equity loan will have rates as low as five percent. You may incur some fees, but your debt will be more manageable.
2. Negotiation
Most people are unaware that they can negotiate their own debt settlements with credit card companies. One of the worst things you can do is nothing. Your bill will keep rising and you will continue to fall deeper into debt. One of the best things you can do is to call your credit card company and ask for a lower payment. In many cases, the credit card company would rather have something as compared to nothing. Tell them what you can afford to pay and see if they will adjust your payment. The worst they can say is “No.”
3. A Car Title Loan
These lesser known loans offer people access to quick cash that can be used to pay off credit card debt. For those who own a car that is paid off, they can use it as collateral. Title loan companies like Embassy Loans of Florida will loan roughly 50 percent of a vehicle’s value for a short term. The loans do not require credit checks and the process time is minimal. Most title loans are completed in an hour. The funds can then be used to pay off credit card debt.
4. Cash Out Home Refinance
For homeowners, they can also consolidate their credit card debt by completing a refinance of their home loan. This is similar to the home equity loan. The mortgage would be refinanced and a certain amount cash (based on the equity in the home) would be taken out to pay off the credit cards. The new payment would now include the debt payoff plus the house and be less than what you were paying separately.
Regardless of how you do it, you can see that there are multiple ways to pay off credit card debt and make your financial picture a little brighter.