Having any credit card debt can be stressful, but $10,000 in credit card debt is a different level of stress. The average credit card interest rate is over 20%, so interest charges alone will take up a large chunk of your payments. On $10,000 in balances, you could end up paying over $2,000 per year in interest.
It can feel disheartening, especially when you’re not sure what you can do to make real progress. But there are several great tools and strategies you can use to take control of your credit card debt. If you’re in this situation, here’s a step-by-step guide on what to do.
Make it your No. 1 financial priority
The biggest factor in getting out of credit card debt is how much you pay toward it every month. This is one of the reasons why some people stay in debt much longer than others. They don’t change their spending habits much, or they only make minimum payments on their credit cards.
When you have $10,000 in credit card debt, the best thing you can do is put all your disposable income toward it. Cut costs wherever you can. If you’ve been going out for dinner or drinks every weekend, switch to low- or no-cost activities, such as a movie night at home. If you’re not sure where to spend less, check out budgeting apps, as these can help you find places to cut back.
Put a pause on your savings and investments, as well. These are good financial habits, but your credit card debt should be your focus until it’s paid off.
Get your credit card interest rate down to 0%
Interest charges are one of the main reasons it’s so hard to pay off credit card debt. That’s why balance transfer cards are such a helpful tool for getting debt free.
This type of credit card has a 0% intro APR on balance transfers. After you open one, you can transfer over your credit card balances. All you pay is a small balance transfer fee — normally 3% of the amount transferred. You’ll then have your card’s entire intro period to pay down what you owe without any interest charges.
On large amounts of debt, a balance transfer could save you thousands. Let’s say you have $10,000 in credit card debt, and you pay $500 per month toward it. It has a 23% APR, which is about average based on Federal Reserve data. You could transfer it to a card with a 0% intro APR for 21 months and a 3% balance transfer fee. Here’s how much you’d save:
- Original 23% APR: You pay $2,732 in interest and be out of debt in 25 months.
- 0% intro APR: You pay $300 in balance transfer fees, $0 in interest, and be out of debt in 21 months.
- Result: You save $2,432 total and get out of debt four months earlier.
A balance transfer can be a game changer for dealing with debt. Check out our list of the best balance transfer cards here with 0% intro APRs lasting as long as 21 months.
Decide on a payment plan
Your payment plan starts with your monthly payment amount. Figure out an amount you can afford to pay every month, and remember that the higher it is, the faster you’ll be out of debt. For example, you could commit to $300 per month, $500 per month, or more, depending on your disposable income.
If you opened a balance transfer card, then you’ll likely only have one payment to make. But if you have credit card debt spread out across multiple cards, then you’ll also need to decide which cards to prioritize. There are two popular debt repayment methods:
- Debt avalanche: Pay back debt with the highest interest rate first. Make minimum payments on all your cards, and put all your leftover money on the card with the highest APR. This saves you the most money on interest.
- Debt snowball: Pay back debt with the lowest balance first. Make minimum payments on all your cards, and put all your leftover money on the card with the lowest balance. This method gets you the first “win” of paying off a credit card as quickly as possible.
The debt avalanche is better from a financial standpoint. But the debt snowball often helps people stay motivated. Both work, it’s just a matter of which one works for you.
Keep your eyes on the prize
If you follow those steps, you’re going to see your credit card balances get lower and lower. Resist the temptation to relax once you get your debt down to $5,000 or $3,000. It’s fine if you want to celebrate these milestones, but keep following your payment plan. Otherwise, it’s easy to get off track.
A $10,000 credit card may seem daunting, but if you work hard at it, you could pay it off sooner than you think. Once you do, make it a point to pay off your credit cards in full every month. When you do this, you can take advantage of the perks the best credit cards offer without getting charged any interest.