How to Reduce Your Monthly Credit Card Payments

Your credit card payments have become unmanageable, and you’d do nearly anything to lower them. As it turns out, there are several ways to catch a break on your monthly obligations. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Make Bigger Payments — Now

“Wait just a minute,” you may be thinking, “I’m trying to lower my payments — not pay more.” But making larger payments on your plastic now is just what you need – it will lower future payments if you’re keeping your charges in check. Most credit card issuers only require you to pay between 2% and 4% of your credit card balance monthly. But making more than the minimum payment can lower your overall balance, plus the amount of interest you’re paying.

Reduce your spending or pick up a side hustle to gain extra dollars to pay on your debt monthly.

Review Your Budget

You need a budget to help guide your spending to free up extra cash to put toward your accounts. Review all your expenses including recurring subscriptions, bank fees, and even entertainment. Try to lower rates on larger expenses such as insurance premiums. If you’re unsure what you’re spending each month, consider employing a budgeting app you can link to your checking and charge card accounts to track your expenditures.

Lower Credit Card Spending

If you tend to overspend, you’re going to have issues managing your credit card payments. Go over your last couple of credit card statements to see where all your money’s going. For example, if you find that a good chunk of your discretionary income goes to dining out, it’s probably a good time to cook more.

Quit Charging

If you’ve lost control of your balance or your credit utilization rate is out of whack, you might want to consider giving your plastic a break. By using available funds for expenses, you won’t contribute to your balance. At length, and if you stick with it, your minimum payment will decrease.

Ask for Lower Interest Rates

A simple way to lower your monthly credit card payment is to lower your APR. If you’ve been a good customer call your card issuer and ask for an adjustment -- you have a good shot. If you get turned down initially, ask to speak with a manager. Card companies have discretion to make these kinds of moves. Check out the top 5 debt consolidation loans at www.bills.com.

Transfer Your Balance

You can also lower your interest rate through a balance transfer. Look for a card that, for a limited amount of time, offers 0% interest for balance transfers. This means that you’ll take your high-interest balances on current cards and shift them to the transfer plastic. Just be sure to pay off your balance before your interest rate shoots back up at the end of the promotional period, usually 12 to 18 months.

Prioritize Payments

If you’re dealing with several credit card balances, you should be deliberate about paying them down faster — and ultimately decrease your monthly payments. Throw everything you can at the card with the highest interest rate, while making minimum payments on your other cards. Once that one’s paid off, tackle the one with the next-highest interest rate. Repeat the process until all your cards are paid off.

Now you have some idea about how to reduce your monthly credit card payments. Put the work in and watch the results. Before you know it, your payments will be more manageable, and you’ll have regained your financial footing.