If your credit card balances keep climbing and you feel like you’re just moving money around to stay afloat, financial advisors say now is the time to act.
5 On Your Side has three steps to start getting your debt back under control.
First, get everything in front of you. Write down what you owe, the interest rate on each debt, your monthly payments and exactly how much money is coming in and going out.
Then, look at your options. That could mean calling your credit card company and asking about a hardship program, looking into a balance transfer or consolidation loan, or working with a nonprofit credit counselor.
“There’s a lot of options in between those two things,” said Thomas Nitzsche from Money Management International. “You can work with your creditor in a financial hardship program to hopefully get the interest rates down and create a repayment plan.”
Don’t wait until you’ve missed several payments to ask for help. Nitzsche said, if you’re struggling to make even the minimum payment, that’s a sign it’s time to start exploring your options.