Get organised
Prioritise your debts
Generally speaking, it's better to prioritise paying off your debts over saving. This is because the interest you accrue on your savings will almost invariably not cover the interest you are paying on your debt.
Even if you’ve got a 0% card deal, this won’t last forever; so you need to throw all your spare funds at it before the 0% period ends.
Budget
If you make savings elsewhere, you’ll have more money to help pay off your credit card debt. So sit down and work out exactly what your monthly outgoings and earnings are. You can do this by using our free MoneyTrack tool. If you register your accounts, every time you make a purchase – no matter which bank account or credit card you use – the tool will record it for you, and then allow you to categorise all your transactions so you know exactly what you're spending your money on every month.
This statement of affairs calculator might also come in handy.
Then work out where you can make cut backs – could you socialise less often or lower your food bills? Any savings you make, start putting towards your debts. You can set yourself a budget by using the lovemoney MoneyTrack budgeting tab, which allows you to set a monthly budget for any specific category (such as petrol and fuel). You’ll then be able to track your progress through the month against the budget you set.
Read our guide Set a budget and stick to it for more top tips.
Set up a monthly standing order
It's always a good idea to set up a monthly standing order for your minimum monthly repayment to ensure you remember to make a payment each month.
One slip and you could be charged a fee, lose your 0% deal, and possible get a black mark on your credit record.
Retweet
Comments (
Facebook