How to Get Out of Credit Card Debt Fast

Credit card balances usually have the highest interest rates of all the kinds of debt. But you can get credit card debt relief and find financial security. Then you can put your money into savings instead of your credit card companies’ pockets. 

Some strategies get you out of credit card debt faster than others. The best strategy to use depends on your situation. Getting to know these ways to pay off credit card debt can help you choose the approach that works best for you, and that choice can be the first step towards a better financial future. 

What Are Strategies to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Fast?

If you’ve decided it’s time to get rid of your credit card debt and get your financial house in order, you have plenty of options.

Getting to know various debt reduction strategies can help you recognize which best fits your situation. And sometimes, the right answer is to use more than one strategy. 

Here are some of the most effective and popular methods:

• DIY payoff with the snowball or avalanche method

• Debt consolidation

• Debt counseling

• Debt management

• Debt settlement

• Bankruptcy

Each of these options could be the right choice, and they won’t all be right for you.

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Accelerating Debt Reduction: Snowball and Avalanche

Debt reduction can be a big task, so two popular methods recognize that you may want to start small, then steadily gather momentum. These are the snowball and the avalanche methods. 

The debt snowball method

With the debt snowball, you prioritize your credit card debt repayments from the smallest to the largest balance owed. While making the minimum payment on the rest of your card balances, pay as much as you can to the account with the lowest balance. 

That'll be the fastest way of eliminating one of your debt balances. You can then apply the same strategy to the next smallest debt, and so on.

Say, for example, you have these debts:

• $500 medical bill ($50 minimum payment) (3% APR)

• $2,500 credit card bill ($82 minimum payment) (26.99% APR)

• $7,000 car loan debt ($135 minimum) (5% APR)

• $10,000 student loan debt ($167 minimum) (8% APR)

In this situation, your minimum payments total $434. You work out a budget that allows you to put $500 a month toward debt reduction. So you have an additional $66 to put toward debt.

Under the snowball method, you make your minimum payments on all those debts except the $500 medical bill. On that one, you add that extra $66 to your $50 minimum payment. Paying $116 per month (instead of $50) helps you pay off that debt faster. 

Once it’s paid off, you take that $116 and add it to the payment on your credit card bill. Now, instead of paying $82 per month, you’re paying $198. 

Continue like this until all the debts are paid off. 

This approach can be very motivating because it’s the quickest way to start knocking off debts. This gives the feeling of progress. As you continue, your payment gets bigger and you have fewer bills to pay.

The debt avalanche method

A snowball gradually gathers size as you roll it along. An avalanche gathers size and force faster and faster as it roars forward. The debt avalanche is designed to make your debt reduction efforts increasingly effective as time goes on.

With this method, you focus on the debt that has the APR. The credit card is the clear winner. Your payment will be $148 a month. It’s going to take you a little longer to get to your first payoff, compared to the snowball method. But you’ll save money in interest charges.

The avalanche may not eliminate any one balance as quickly as the snowball method. However, it reduces the total amount you owe more quickly. You can track your progress by seeing how quickly that total debt starts to shrink.

In our example, both methods clear all of your debts in 47 months. But the final payment in the avalanche method is $183.61 less.

Debt Consolidation to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

Debt consolidation involves using one source of credit, like a new loan, to pay off multiple existing debts.

What does that accomplish? Depending on your situation, debt consolidation could:

• Simplify your finances by reducing the number of monthly payments you have to make

• Reduce the interest you pay by exchanging high-interest debt for a lower-rate debt

• Adjust your monthly payment amount to better suit your financial resources

• Help your credit record by moving credit card debt to an installment loan

Debt consolidation depends on having a good enough credit score to qualify for new credit to pay off old debts. How this works depends on what type of credit you can qualify for, and what types of debt you currently have.

Possibilities include consolidating debt with a balance transfer credit card, a personal loan, or a home equity loan.

Balance transfer credit card

A balance transfer credit card typically has a zero-interest introductory period lasting six to 21 months. You transfer existing credit card balances to your new balance transfer card. If you can eliminate interest charges, your full payments can go towards debt reduction. (Most balance transfer cards charge a 3-6% fee for each transfer.)

The key to making this work is having a clear budget plan that allows you to pay off the debt during that zero-interest introductory period. That plan should also include avoiding new charges on the cards you’ve just paid off. 

When considering a balance transfer card, be sure to look at the length of the balance transfer period, and the amount of any balance transfer fees. 

Personal loan

Personal loans are usually unsecured installment loans. Interest rates are typically lower than credit card rates. That makes them a good tool for debt consolidation. 

When considering a personal loan for debt consolidation, look at the affordability of the monthly payments. Also take into account the total amount you have to pay over the life of the loan.

A side benefit of using a personal loan for debt consolidation is that it could improve your credit mix. 

There are two major types of credit: revolving credit like credit cards, and installment loans. Having experience with both types of credit could have a positive effect on your credit standing. 

Home equity loan

If you own a home and have built up some equity in it, that’s a resource you could use for debt consolidation.

A home equity loan is guaranteed by your home. That means if you fail to repay the loan, you could lose the home. This is a financial safety net for the lender. The result is that home equity loans could be easier to qualify for. Also, the interest rate tends to be lower than other borrowing options. That makes them an excellent tool for debt consolidation under the right circumstances. 

With home equity loans, you have the option of stretching payments out over a long time. This could make the monthly payments more affordable. But the longer you take to repay a debt, the more interest you’ll pay.  

A home equity loan could diversify your credit mix in a way that helps your credit record. 

Moving your credit card debt to a personal loan or home equity loan could have a positive effect on your credit if it improves your credit utilization ratio. That’s your credit card balances compared to your credit limits. Higher utilization tends to hurt credit scores. Installment loans don’t affect your credit the same way.

Credit Counseling

If you can't qualify for a debt consolidation loan, or you simply can't decide how to pay off credit card debt, credit counseling might help. 

Nonprofit credit counseling agencies can help you solve overspending problems. Credit counselors are typically certified. They should have experience in consumer credit, financial and debt counseling, and budgeting. Counselors consult with you, review your finances, and help develop a personalized strategy to get you out of debt.

Credit counseling can help you understand your debt reduction options. It can also take a more hands-on role in helping you manage your debt payments.

Credit counseling education and information

Talking to a credit counselor can mean you benefit from their experience. It helps to work with someone who's been through this kind of situation many times before. 

Credit counselors can take you through the pros and cons of different debt reduction efforts. They can tell you what to look for when considering financial products such as credit cards and loans. They can also help you set up a budget to help stop the cycle of continuous borrowing, and free up more money to pay off credit card debt. 

Debt management plan (DMP)

One service credit counseling agencies offer is called a debt management plan (DMP). DMPs organize your payments and figure out how to best use your resources to pay off debt. 

In a debt management plan, you make one monthly payment to a credit counselor. That credit counselor then decides how to best allocate that money among your creditors. The credit counselor may also negotiate with individual creditors to get better repayment terms.

When you start a DMP, you may have to close your credit card accounts, or at least stop using them for a while. That way you don't add to your balances when you’re supposed to be paying them off. You're also likely to have to pay a set-up fee and a monthly fee for as long as the DMP continues. However, that may prove to be money well spent if this solution helps you conquer debt problems.

Debt Settlement

The solutions discussed so far are ways of paying the full amount you owe. Sometimes that's just not possible. If that's the case, you may want to consider solutions that can reduce what you owe. These solutions include debt settlement and bankruptcy. 

Debt settlement is a process in which a creditor agrees to accept less than the entire amount owed as full payment. You can negotiate this yourself, or work with a debt settlement professional. 

Creditors are only likely to be open to negotiating a reduction in the amount you owe if you're missing payments. It’s hard to save money when you’re also struggling with debt. Some people choose to stop paying their debts in order to save money for settlement offers. If you stop paying your debts, your credit standing will suffer.

When you’ve saved enough to make an offer, you or your representative can open negotiations with your creditors. 

The advantages of debt settlement include:

• You may be able to get rid of some debt faster and for less money.

• Debt settlement, unlike bankruptcy, doesn't create a public record. You have more privacy.

• You only have to settle your debt if you agree to the terms. With bankruptcy, a judge or trustee tells you how much you have to pay, and what assets (things of value you own) you must turn over. 

• You shouldn't have to pay any fees until a creditor has agreed to a settlement and you've approved it. A reputable debt settlement firm won’t charge upfront fees (it’s against the law).

The drawbacks of debt settlement include:

• Your creditors aren't required to settle with you. Instead they might keep calling you, turn your debt over to a collection agency, or even take you to court. 

• If you hire a debt settlement company, expect to pay fees (15% to 25% of the enrolled amounts).

• Amounts forgiven in debt settlement are treated as taxable income unless you're considered insolvent (you owe more than the total value of your possessions). 

Bankruptcy (Chapter 7 and Chapter 13)

Another way to pay less than the total amount you owe is to declare bankruptcy. This involves explaining to a court why you can't pay your debts. The judge and a court trustee review the details of your finances, and decide the best way to settle your debts.

The two most common forms of bankruptcy for individuals are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. 

Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Chapter 7 is the type of bankruptcy that usually makes the most sense for people with lower incomes and high unsecured debts. If you can afford a payment, you won’t qualify for Chapter 7.

In Chapter 7, the judge decides which of your possessions you can keep, and which will be sold to pay your creditors. Then your debts are discharged—in other words, you don't have to pay. 

Chapter 7 bankruptcy works for unsecured debts like medical bills and credit card balances.

Filing for bankruptcy gives you protection from creditors. They have to stop trying to collect and they can’t sue you for a debt or foreclose on your home. (They can start again when your case is complete.) Discharging your unsecured debts in bankruptcy could give you a chance to get caught up on your debts that can’t be included in your bankruptcy filing.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a payment plan. You don’t lose any of your assets. You’ll have to pay all of your disposable income into your plan for five years (three if your income is below a threshold). 

The bankruptcy trustee distributes the money to your creditors, according to the court-ordered plan. 

After your plan is complete, any remaining balances are forgiven, tax-free. 

There are limits to how much debt you can have to qualify for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Also, you have to submit your tax returns to the court every year, and the trustee may increase or decrease your payment accordingly.

Paying off Credit Card Debt Can Have Multiple Benefits

If you're struggling to pay off credit card debt, you have several options. Often, the hardest part is getting started. Usually, the longer you wait, the worse debt problems become. So the sooner you begin, the sooner you can start working toward a better financial future.