Ask America’s Ultimate Experts
“Help! I’m drowning in holiday bills!”
You’re not alone! Each of us will owe an average of
$989 in holiday debt this year—which is why we
asked top experts to share their cleverest, easiest
ways to whittle those bills away!
1 Get credit
relief!
Consider consolidating
your bills!
“To make credit bills more manageable, a very simple step is to consolidate all your credit cards into
one monthly bill,” says financial
expert Jordan Goodman. “Go to a
nonprofit credit counseling agency
(such as Cambridge Credit Counseling, Cambridge-Credit.org or
800-897-2200) and apply to consolidate all your high interest credit
card debt into one bill, with a much
lower interest rate—down to 9%,
say, instead of 19%. That way you
Use the “snowball” method!
“Paying off your smallest balance
first—what’s called the ‘snowball
method’—is shown to help you
build momentum and enthusiasm,”
savings expert Lauren Greutman
says. To do: Put your bills in order
from lowest balance to biggest.
Pay the minimums on each bill,
using any money left over to pay
extra on your smallest balance.
Once the smallest balance is paid
off, do the same thing again.
“Research shows that starting with
your lowest balance will help you
pay off your bills faster,” confirms
savings expert Holly Johnson.
2 Plan ahead!
Take longer to pay car loans!
can pay off the principal faster and
not just pay interest for years.”
Important: “Always look for nonprofit credit counseling! Don’t confuse it with for-profi t debt settlement. The latter kills your credit,
while nonprofit credit counseling is
considered neutral; it neither helps
nor hinders.”
Tap “Arkansas credit!”
“Another way to save a lot of money
is to get a lower interest card and
roll over your balance to it,” reveals
Goodman. “Log on to CardRatings.com and hit the ‘balance
transfer’ tab to find a list of the best
credit cards.” In particular, look for
Arkansas-based banks. “Arkansas
has the lowest interest rates in
the country,” he says.
After your home, your car is your
biggest budget drain—and car
loans are higher than
ever,
averaging
$503 a month.
“Cut the cost of
your car loan by
extending its
maturity—
you’ll pay less
every month
and be able to
put that extra
money toward
other debts,”
says Goodman.
“Just go to MyLoan
GEN.com to enter
your loan information.
Then customize a new loan to
arrive at your desired monthly
payment. Folks average a 5.15%
interest rate reduction, and enjoy
an average savings of $81 per
month.”
Zap debt with an app!
The free app Ready For Zero
(ReadyForZero.com) helps you
customize your get-out-of-debt
plan and tells you how
many payments you need
to make until your credit
cards are paid off. The
app also suggests ways to
pay your debt faster and
alerts you to any bank and
credit card rewards that’ll
help trim your bills!
Save more
every day!
Simply pay for
coffee, lunch,
gas and other
expenses with
cash instead of
a credit card
and, pros say,
you’ll spend up to
30% less automatically by curbing impulse buys!
Our expert panel
Financial expert
Jordan Goodman
(aka America’s Money
Answers Man) is the
author of Master Your
Debt. For more of his tips
visit MoneyAnswers.com.
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WOMAN’S WORLD 1/9/17
Little things add up!
Tap January promotions! “In Jan
uary, many banks offer sign-up
bonuses,” notes Greutman. “You
might get $50, for example, for
opening a free checking accoun
t!
It’s worth looking into.”
Take advantage of points! Call
your credit card company to ask
if
your points can be used to help you
lower your balance.
Cut co-pays! If you take an R
regularly, ask your doctor for ax
three-month supply; often, you’ll
only have to pay one co-pay. If, say,
your co-pay is $20, this will instantly
save you $40 for just one prescrip
tion—and $160 a year, money you
can use to pay your bills!
—Kristina Mastrocola
Personal finance expert
Lauren Greutman, who
is an expert on happily
living on less, is the author
of The Recovering Spender.
Visit her at Lauren
Greutman.com.
Money expert
Holly Johnson is a
contributing editor
for The Simple Dollar
(TheSimpleDollar.com).
Get more of her tips
at ClubThrifty.com.
Photos: Shutterstock (2); Getty Images; James Worrell/Getty Images.