Stop Paying Credit Card Debt and Stop Worrying About It
Every month people struggle to pay their credit card debt.
They carry a balance they’re not able to fully pay off each payment cycle before being charged interest. And…
YOU might be one of them!
If you are, you might recognize pretty quickly, you’re gonna be in debt for quite a while. Because you don’t have the money to just pay it all off right now.
And you’re just not getting anywhere. But you need to figure something out.
Because if you continue along, living out this vicious cycle, you’ll be nothing more than a hostage to your credit card debt forever.
Paying your debt and bills until the day you finally realize the stress and lack of progress simply doesn’t make any sense.
So, if you want to learn how to stop paying credit card debt and stop worrying about it, you need to understand your options.
The Problem with Credit Card Debt
Most people who have credit card debt will pay monthly payments as long as they can. But they’ll never pay the debt off.
When they make the payment and see the balance go down the tiniest bit, there’s a false sense of hope and encouragement they’re making progress.
Then, the credit card company charges interest before the next bill comes out, and the balance is right back where it was before your last credit card payment.
As a result, people feel trapped. And they continue doing what they can to pay the bill each month.
And if you do miss a month or two of payments, it gets even worse. Not only does the balance shoot up, but your credit score goes down.
Especially if your credit cards are maxed out, it WILL go down a lot.
At this point, you start thinking you need to get caught up and stop your credit from going down even further. Credit card companies will get your hopes up.
They’ll make you feel if you just get caught up with your payments, your credit score will bounce back up.
But the problem is you become trapped in this cycle of false hope. And, you need to change your thinking.
Because if you continue to stay in credit card debt, you’re literally throwing your good money away.
You need to take action to end the cycle and move forward with your life.
FASTEST Way to Pay Off Credit Card Debt – Just PAY IT
1: Figure out how much you owe and the interest rate you are being charged on each credit card
2: Order your credit card debt from the highest interest rate to the lowest
3: Commit to paying off the credit card with the highest interest rate first
4: Reduce your bills and expenses elsewhere and use the money to pay extra towards your credit card debt
5: Find a way to make more money and pay it off even faster (sell your stuff, get another job, deliver food, drive Uber – hustle and find a way to make more $$$)
Only Other Way to Stop Paying Credit Card Debt
When you have credit card debt, you have several different options for getting rid of it. The first is to continue making minimum payments each month to all of your creditors.
Your debt and the amount owed will hardly change. And your score will go up and down a little each month. You won’t be making any real progress at first.
But you just want to keep up with the interest payments and stop your balances from growing.
Note: Don’t buy anything new or add to your credit card debt. Pause or freeze your cards if you have to.
The second thing you want to do is to negotiate your interest rates. If you look at what you’re being charged, you might find out you’re paying 29% interest each month.
Which is terrible by the way.
But, you might have some success speaking to them about lowering your credit card rate. And if they refuse, it’s okay.
While you’ll still be in the same situation where you’re paying month after month with little to no progress, you have another option.
You can try a debt settlement plan.
Yup! A credit card debt forgiveness plan so you can stop paying credit card debt.
In this case, you’ll work with your credit card company. It might be a little different depending on your personal situation and credit card company.
But normally in this agreement, you’ll pay them every month. And they’ll then pay your credit cards off for you over a period of up to five years.
You won’t be able to use the cards.
But if you can afford to make the payment each month, your debt will eventually be paid off.
Still, the problem with all of these plans is you probably owe more money than you can already afford to pay.
And you wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place if you could afford to pay what you need to pay to eliminate your debts.
But you have another option. You can stop paying your credit card debt. And people are often afraid of this option because they worry about:
- What’ll happen to their credit scores
- The stigma of walking away from their debt and their responsibilities
- Phone calls from debt collectors.
However, there are times when this option makes the most sense.
When to Stop Paying Credit Card Debt and Stop Worrying About It
Often people reach a point where their cards are maxed out. They have no ability to use the cards because they can only make the minimum payment.
The card company may close the line of credit if you get a few months behind. But they’ll continue sending you the statements each month.
And they might even call and let you know if you don’t make a payment, they’re going to send it to collections.
This is all true.
They will send your account to collections. And once they do, the collection company will send you bills and call you.
They’ll threaten to take you to court. And they can be intimidating for many people. But the first thing you should know is they’re trained to use this tactic.
They do this because it works.
Most people want to pay their bills. Debt collectors want to take advantage of this by trying to make you feel bad about yourself.
But you need to know it’s their job to get as much money as possible from you. They’ll make you think they’re somehow related to the credit card company.
But, in fact, most of the time they have purchased your debt for PENNIES on the dollar.
When you default on your credit card debt, the credit card company will charge it off. And it’ll be on your credit report unless you can negotiate a deal to have them remove it.
Any payment you make to them will not change this, and paying them prolongs your situation. This is the time to stop paying your credit card debt.
Change Your Thinking: Who is to Blame?
The credit card companies want you to think you’ve been irresponsible.
You have lived beyond your means, and you have created a bill you can’t pay. Their tactics are designed to make you feel responsible and to guilt you into paying whatever you can to pay off your debt.
The truth is the banking system is stacked against people. They make you think it’s your moral obligation to pay your debts. Most of which is now probably the interest they’ve charged you.
Credit card companies make money on your debt every month. And most of the time, they have made more money than you owe them.
You need to understand that your debt is what they capitalize on. It’s a business transaction.
The credit card companies wouldn’t do what they do if it weren’t profitable for them. So you need to treat it as a business transaction, too.
If you can’t afford your debt, you have other options. And you can’t let their scare tactics keep you trapped in this crazy cycle.
So What’s The End Game?
If you’re NOT going to pay it off using the 5 steps I listed above, once you stop paying your debt, you need to wait until it’s in collections.
Debt collectors have purchased your debt for pennies on the dollar, and they will do whatever they can to get you to pay.
There are laws based on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
They protect you from being harassed. And there is also a statute of limitations in each state which determines how long a debt collector has to sue you to collect the debt.
You can wait it out. And…
After seven years, the debt will fall off your credit report. You can also save up and negotiate with these debt collectors to settle your debt for less than you owe.
If you do, make sure they agree in writing to remove it from your credit report.
And think twice before using credit cards you can’t afford to pay off each and every month.
Stop giving your bank and creditors free money each month in interest.
All because you can’t afford the items you’re buying things with credit and money you don’t have.
Change your mindset.
And understand the process. Understand credit. And learn how credit card companies make money off you being in debt.
That way you can stop paying credit card debt and stop worrying about it.