It’s worth checking with your bank to see if it does. Your bank’s website or app may also have a budget feature that shows where your money goes and helps you target money for certain items. If you don’t have a decent income, however, those necessities may take up a much bigger chunk of your budget. One good guide for budgeting is the 50/30/20 budget plan – 50% of your income goes to what you must pay and need, 30% is for things you want, and 20% goes to savings and debt payment.īut this isn’t necessarily a magic formula. It’s simply a plan for looking at how much money you have coming in and deciding where it will go. Don’t overthink it and feel overwhelmed, Creating a budget doesn’t have to be complicated. The key to building a financial foundation, and paying off that credit card debt, is understanding and controlling your finances with a budget.īudgets allow you to pinpoint areas where you could trim some fat and create the money needed to pay off that debt. While studies show that 70% or more Americans think it’s important to budget, you may be one of the 30-40% who doesn’t do it. The most efficient way to pay down credit card debt is by giving serious attention to a monthly budget. And that’s if you don’t use any other credit cards for those 19 years.Īny of the seven options you choose will require hard work and keeping your eye on the long-term goal of making your credit card debt go away. A minimum payment of 3% a month on $15,000 worth of debt means 227 months (almost 19 years) of payments, starting at $450 a month.īy the time you’ve paid off the $15,000, you’ll also have paid almost as much in interest ($12,978 if you’re paying the average interest rate of 14.96%) as you did in principal. The hardest way, or impossible way, to pay off $15,000 in credit card debt, or any amount, is by only making minimum payments every month. In the middle are debt consolidation loans, balance transfer cards, and if things are really desperate, debt settlement. Below you’ll find seven time-honored options, ranging from self-help options as simple as better budgeting or a do-it-yourself payment plan, to getting professional assistance from a debt management program (DMP). How to pay off $15,000 in credit card debt may seem impossible. If there is more than one credit card holder in your household, it’s easy, even if you’re “average,” for the amount owed to get to $15,000 or higher. And for every month that balance doesn’t get lower, it costs you more money. Whether you owe $15,000 in credit card debt, $7,938, or something in between, the issue is that you have a big bill that’s hard to get rid of. Though card debt dropped in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic - Americans paid down credit card debt a total of $138 billion the first two quarters of 2020 - financial experts expect that to pick back up once restaurants and other events open up. households carry over credit card debt from one month to the next and the average balance is $7,938. If you’re wondering how to pay off $15,000 in credit card debt, you can comfort yourself with the fact that you’re not alone.
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