--- title: Accept the Challenge to Pay off Your Credit Card Debt description: Determination can help you pay off debt on your credit card, along with these tips including how to transfer debt to your credit card. image: https://go.hfcu.org/hs-fs/file-2348662501-png/images/Accept_the_Challenge.png --- [![MoneyWisdom_HFCU_r2](https://go.hfcu.org/hs-fs/hubfs/MoneyWisdom_HFCU_r2.png?width=464&name=MoneyWisdom_HFCU_r2.png "MoneyWisdom_HFCU_r2")](https://go.hfcu.org/blog) Filter by Category** - [Show All](https://go.hfcu.org/blog) - [Security](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/security) - [Personal Finance](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/personal-finance) - [Auto](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/auto) - [Business](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/business) - [Credit Score](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/credit-score) - [Home](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/home) - [Credit Cards](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/credit-cards) - [Life Changes](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/life-changes) - [Insurance](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/insurance) - 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[Pets (1)](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/pets) - [dormant account (1)](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/dormant-account) - [inactive account (1)](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/inactive-account) # Accept the Challenge to Pay off Your Credit Card Debt ** [Josh Paul](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/author/josh-paul) ** Mar 01, 2017 ![](https://go.hfcu.org/hs-fs/file-2348662501-png/images/Accept_the_Challenge.png) Credit card debt. Three of the most dreaded words in the English language. No one wants to think about, talk about it or even face the truth of it. It’s painful, ugly and overwhelming. And it makes me really sad because last year, I got myself soooo close to wiping out my credit card debt and then something happened (who knows what!) and I slowly watched the bill grow every month. Fortunately, I made a plan to pay off debt and got the balance down to zero to start 2016. And now I have a can’t-fail plan that you can start today to pay down your credit card debt this year. Here’s my plan:  1. **Figure out *exactly* how much debt you have** on every credit card and write it down so you have to really see it. 2. **Call the card issuers** and try to negotiate a lower interest rate. This can save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars in interest. Another option is to [transfer debt to a credit card ](https://www.hfcu.org/loans-and-credit-cards/credit-cards/credit-card-balance-transfers.html)with a balance transfer special — look for 0% interest for 18 months. (Beware of the fees associated with [balance transfers](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/4-things-to-know-about-credit-card-balance-transfers)!) 3. **Choose a payoff strategy**: Either [pay off the highest interest rate card](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/understand-the-interest-rate-on-your-credit-card) first and pay just the minimums on the others, or pay off the card with the lowest balance first. This isn’t the most cost-effective way to do it, but psychologically it can help to pay off a card and get rid of it for good.  4. **Find three things to cut back**** immediately** (Starbucks, eating out and a cable bill worked for me). 5. **Delete your credit card information from the shopping websites you like to visit most** — Amazon and iTunes were the two I targeted. 6. **Put your credit cards in your desk drawer**. Studies show people don’t spend money as quickly if they’re using cash. 7. **Track your daily expenses.** To help me move to a cash-only lifestyle, I tracked my daily expenses for one month, including all my regular monthly expenses and utility bills. 8. **Figure out how much discretionary income you have each month** and divide it into fourths so you know exactly how much you have to spend on everything each week. 9. **Renew your determination** to become debt-free every day! It won’t necessarily be easy, but determination can help you wipe out your credit card debt. If you’ve got credit card debt, I invite you to **please try this challenge**. **[Download our eGuide, Credit Card - The Dos and Don'ts](https://go.hfcu.org/credit-card-balance-transfer)** Let us know in the comments section below if you’d like to join the quest to get rid of credit card debt. And please let us know if you’ve got a helpful tip to you’d like to share. For more information about responsible credit card usage, check out this [blog article](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/bid/185398/Stop-the-Insanity-A-Lesson-in-Responsible-Credit-Card-Usage)! [![The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Credit Card](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/118438/b3b03657-f9b1-40e8-a2f3-4b9d39ee0ccd.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/118438/b3b03657-f9b1-40e8-a2f3-4b9d39ee0ccd) ** [Credit Cards](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/credit-cards), [Personal Finance](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/topic/personal-finance) [** Managing Your Money During a Divorce ](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/managing-your-money-during-a-divorce) [** Student Loans Are Crushing Young Adults ](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/student-loans-are-crushing-young-adults) ### About Author ![Default Author Image](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/476360/Blog%20Template/Images/default-author-thumbnail.jpg) Josh Paul Related Posts [![Navigating Financial Challenges After a Job Loss](https://go.hfcu.org/hubfs/iStock-1444494544.jpg) Navigating Financial Challenges After a Job Loss ](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/job-loss) [![Three Tips to Build a Financial Safety Net](https://go.hfcu.org/hubfs/2-2.png) Three Tips to Build a Financial Safety Net ](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/safety-net) [![The Benefits of Setting Up Direct Deposits](https://go.hfcu.org/hubfs/young%20woman%20paying%20bills%20on%20couch-1.png) The Benefits of Setting Up Direct Deposits ](https://go.hfcu.org/blog/the-benefits-of-setting-up-direct-deposits) ** - [**](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://go.hfcu.org/blog/accept-the-challenge-to-pay-off-your-credit-card-debt/) - [**](https://X.com/share?url=https://go.hfcu.org/blog/accept-the-challenge-to-pay-off-your-credit-card-debt/) - [**](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://go.hfcu.org/blog/accept-the-challenge-to-pay-off-your-credit-card-debt/&summary=&source=CeBIT) ## You are Leaving Hanscom Federal Credit Union #### **Please read the following before proceeding to:** The website you are about to visit is solely the responsibility of the merchant or other party providing the site. 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Moreover, Hanscom Federal Credit Union's privacy policies do not apply to any of the linked websites within this blog. Please consult the privacy disclosures on those linked sites for further information. ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Josh Paul" }, "dateModified" : "February 12, 2020, 2:18:13 PM", "datePublished" : "2017-03-01 16:18:00", "description" : "Determination can help you pay off debt on your credit card, along with these tips including how to transfer debt to your credit card. 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