Credit Card Debt Research Paper

How to pay less interest on your credit card debt

If you have credit card debt, you’re paying interest—unless you’re currently paying off debt with a zero-percent introductory offer. Even then, you’ll eventually need to pay interest on that credit card debt if you still have a balance once the introductory period ends. Nobody wants to pay credit card interest, but it’s just a requirement of using credit cards. While there might not be a way to get around those interest charges on the credit card debt you already have, you might be able to pay less. The following are some potential ways you could pay less interest on your credit card debt:

Balance transfers

If you qualify for another credit card with a lower interest rate or zero-percent
Most of your money will likely go towards interest, and the longer you have an outstanding balance, the more you’ll pay in interest throughout the years. By making larger payments, you get rid of your credit card debt faster, and will pay less in interest.

Start with the credit card that has the highest interest

If you have multiple credit cards and you aren’t doing a balance transfer, consider eliminating the debt from your highest interest rate credit card first. Make the minimum payments on the others, and put the larger payment money towards the credit card you’re paying the most interest on. When that card is paid off, move on to the next. The sooner you can pay off the accounts with the higher interest rates, the less you’ll pay in credit card interest overall.

Stop using your credit card

As you begin to make some progress in the debt eliminating process, it’s important not to undo it all by simply charging again on your credit card. Unless you’re able to pay off your balance in full, putting more charges on your credit card won’t help you pay less in interest, and won’t allow you to pay off your credit card debt any
In order to qualify for credit cards and/or personal loans with the advertised interest rates, you may need to work on improving your credit first. There are several steps you can take to begin working on improving your credit score. Aside from taking care of debt, one thing you can do is check your credit report carefully for any errors. This means looking through it thoroughly, and not just focusing on the credit score. Instead, focus on the individual items on your credit report, and try to identify any past due accounts or other negative items that could be bringing your score down. Check them carefully to make sure they are correct. Credit report errors are actually pretty common, and there could be a misreported amount of money you owe, or there might be a past due account on your credit report that doesn’t even belong there at all. If you notice a mistake, take action to dispute it and have it removed from your credit report. It may take some time for the changes to reflect, but once any errors are removed, you’ll likely see an increase in your credit score. This is just one of the many ways you can possibly improve your credit, and once your credit score goes up, you could qualify for lower interest