How to overcome the shame of credit card debt

| Mar 30, 2018 | debt relief |

If you are struggling to deal with a huge amount of credit card debt, you might find yourself wondering what you can do. You might also feel ashamed that you let your debt spiral out of control. Credit card debt is a common problem for many households in the East Orange area. According to Yahoo, $15,654 is the average amount of credit card debt per household in 2017. As challenging as it may seem for you to make timely payments and lower your debt, there are options that you might not be aware of.

There are many reasons why people fall behind on their credit card payments and financial obligations. Job loss, a decrease in income, poor financial habits and unexpected medical bills are often the cause of financial hardship for many. Regardless of why you are dealing with delinquent credit card debt, you should not let the shame or stigma associated with it keep you from taking steps to improve your financial circumstances.

Evaluate your financial habits

Take a good hard look at your spending habits. Document how much income you have coming in and how much money you spend each month on necessities and nonessentials. Decide where you can eliminate excess spending. Come up with a budget that enables you to pay for your necessary needs.

Come up with a plan

Once you know where your money is going, you can make plans to manage it better. List every bill you have and the due dates. Do not forget to include the total amount owed and minimum payments. Decide if you want to pay off the card with the highest or lowest amount of debt first. Paying the highest amount is known as The Debt Avalanche, and The Debt Snowball refers to paying the cards with the smallest balances first, states Forbes. Setup automatic payments for the minimum amount on your accounts so you do not miss any payments. You might want to tackle the credit cards that have the least amount owed so you can see your progress, remain motivated and pay them off faster. Any extra money you have should go towards extra payments and a savings account.

Whatever you decide to do to pay off your credit card debts, do not ignore your creditors. Talk to them and ask if you can make arrangements. Many creditors will work with you so they can receive something instead of nothing. Some creditors and collections agencies might not allow payment arrangements. If you encounter challenges that prevent you from bringing your delinquent credit card debts current, you might want to speak with a bankruptcy attorney to learn options.