Holiday Blues

If you went overboard with holiday spending, now is the time to address the situation. Yes, it’s not fun digging out of debt; but ignoring it will only make the problem bigger. Here are some steps to eliminate holiday debt quickly.

Call Credit Card Company

The first step toward eliminating holiday credit card debt is to ask your credit card company to do it for you. We’re serious! Call your issuer and ask for help. Explain to them how you’ve been a loyal customer for years, you’ve always handled debt on time, and that this won’t happen again. Many credit card companies will be willing to work with you in some way, often by reducing your interest rate.

Make Tough Decisions

Now that you have created some breathing room with a lower interest rate, it’s time to make some tough decisions with your budget. Comb through it and reduce spending wherever possible. Use the money you free up to pay down your debt. Keep in mind that this can be a temporary thing. Once you cut your debt you can make adjustments back into your spending.

Attack Interest 

If you have debt on more than one card, work on paying down the card with the highest interest rate first while making the minimum payments on the rest. Once you have that paid off, move on to the next card. If that seems tough, you can also just pay off the card with the least amount of debt first, again while making minimum payments on the rest. The bottom line is to use a strategy that you will stick with.

Do One Thing: Call your credit card company and ask them for help with your debt. You will be happy you did, as most companies will be willing to work with you.