Sneaky Ways to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

You could win the lottery and pay off your debts tomorrow. Or you could wake up and find out that you never spent the money in the first place, that debt is all a bad dream. More likely, you will pay off your debt slowly with hard work and discipline. Nothing can substitute for a written plan and regular payments on your debt to systematically reduce your balances and get you where you need to be. Finding ways to pay off debt faster can be a challenge and each little victory puts you closer to being debt free.

One way start melting your debt snowball is to make lots of payments. If you get a rebate check, put it on the card. If you have a garage sale, put it on the card. If you find you have $20 left of the grocery money at the end of the week, put it on the card. Interest stops when the payment is accepted so each payment you make saves money starting immediately above and beyond the payment made. In addition, you eliminate the possibility of spending the money on something else before the end of the month when the payment due date arrives.

If you don't already have one, get a card that has no limit on how many payments you can make. Bank of America lets me make a payment anytime I want. Chase only allows one payment every 3 days but that's not too bad. It's not the first consideration when choosing your credit card, but it should be one of them if you are actively trying to get out of debt.

Get a coin Jar. Roll the coins yourself (unless your bank will do it for FREE) and put it on the debt. This will make an additional payment toward reducing the debt. You won't even miss the coins and its fun to watch the jar fill up.

Find something to sell.

Old jewelry, baseball cards anything of value may make some extra money for your debt reduction. If it's sitting in a closet and not being used, sell it. Your seldom watched videos & DVDs can be sold online or at the Flea Market for additional cash.

Give up something major. Cigarettes come to mind as a way to save a lot of money very quickly. Beer and alcohol, fast food, dinners out, movies, soda, summer vacation, golf, bowling anything you regularly spend money on that could be saved and put against the debt.

On the home front, hang the laundry out to dry, clean with vinegar and water instead of buying expensive cleaning products. Switch to generic brands, shop at Aldi's and Wal-Mart, cut coupons and shop for the lowest price. Turn out the lights, wear the clothes you have, make do with what you already own until your debt is paid off. It would be great to make a million dollars, but it's easier to save a million pennies here and there. Calculate the savings from each of your money saving activities and put it on the debt until one day, you find you no longer have it.