How to choose which credit card to pay off first
You’re doing it! You made the commitment to pay off your credit cards. But, how do you pick which credit card to pay off first? We’ll tell you how!
Hear how to pick which credit card to pay off first:
Picking the credit card to pay off first
Okay, you’ve made the commitment to pay off all your credit cards. You want them done and gone. Then, what do you do? You’ve got several credit cards with different balances and different interest rates – though all high-interest rates.
How do you pick which credit card to pay off first, then second, then third and (well – we could go on and on)?
For most people, wanting and even deciding to pay off their credit cards isn’t the problem. It’s picking which strategy to use to pay off their credit cards and deciding which to pay off first. Then, sticking with that strategy until all their credit card balances are $0.
On this Queer Money®, we’ll talk about the two most popular strategies for paying off credit cards, neither of which are as good as the third, exclusive way to pay off credit cards that we’ll share. Then, we’ll tell you exactly how to decide which strategy will work best for you and pick that first credit card to pay off.
Topics covered to decide which credit card to pay off first
Why it’s important to pay off credit card debt
- Americans paid $104 billion in fees in 2017, and that’s going up
- LGBT parents with 1 child under 18 have 20% more credit card debt than their straight peers
- Credit card debt is keeping people from living their best lives, causing stress and mental health issues
The key to paying off credit card debt is having a strategy and sticking to it
- The Credit Card Pay Off Course helped pay off $60,000+ in credit card debt since January 2019
- Calculating which card to pay off first is part of that plan
The methods for paying off credit card debt
The Avalanche Method
- Saves the most money, feels the slowest
- The Debt Avalanche Method says to make minimum payments on all your credit cards while making a minimum payment plus directing any extra money toward your credit card with the highest interest rate
- Once your credit card with the highest interest rate is fully paid off, then direct all your extra money toward your credit card with the next highest interest rate
The Snowball Method
- Costs more feels fastest
- The Debt Snowball Method says to make minimum payments on all your credit cards while making a minimum payment plus directing any extra money toward your credit card with the smallest balance first
- Once your credit card with the smallest balance is fully paid off, then direct all your extra money toward your credit card with the next smallest balance
The Debt Free Guys’ Debt Lasso Method
- The Debt Lasso Method reins in the interest rates on your credit cards as low as possible, even 0%, and pays off whatever debt you carry as fast as possible using the combination of money you save in interest payments and the minimum monthly balance you’d send anyway
- Learn more about the Debt Lasso method here
Which credit card should you pay off first?
- Ultimately, depends much on you and your financial circumstances
- First, if you can pay off any card in 1-2 payments, do it (Snowball)
- Second, look at your credit score
- If you have a high credit score, do the Debt Lasso Method, keeping your minimum total payment consistent
- If you have a low credit score, take our free Improve or Build Your Credit Score Powered by Experian Boost here
- Then, use the Snowball Method, making all your payments on-time until your credit score improves until you qualify for the Debt Lasso Method