Maxed Out Credit Card Blues

Credit card debt is one of the most popular targets for paying more than the minimum payment each month, if you have any money in your budget to add a few dollars to the debt repayment category.  If you can manage to keep this up for a few months, you can see your balances get smaller, and the amount of the interest charges gets smaller each month, so you see how you are saving money over time.  Of course, paying more than the minimum payment means that you free up at least a little bit of available credit, and the paycheck-to-paycheck nightmare where most of us have been living for the past few years means that most of us will end up charging the credit balance right back up to where it was last month, or even higher.  Either we will need to use our credit card for bills or groceries, the kinds of things that personal finance experts warn people never to use credit cards for, or we will be so stressed that we will splurge on a Chick-fil-A meal to calm our nerves before we begin another exhausting shift at work.  When you are stressed out about debt, a better solution is to contact a Miami debt lawyer.

If You Are Maxed Out and Stressed Out, You Are in Good Company

According to a recent report on the CNBC Personal Finance website, the number of American consumers whose credit cards are maxed out; as of October 2024, 37 percent of credit card holders have at least one maxed out credit card or a card that is not maxed out today, but was maxed out at the end of the last billing cycle and will likely reach its limit again by the time the current billing cycle closes.  People in their 40s are the age group with the highest percentage of maxed out accounts, since many of these borrowers are far enough into the enterprise of raising children that their credit card balances have climbed that high.

How to Stay Out of Trouble With Credit Cards

The best way to avoid trouble with credit cards is to open an account just to build your creditworthiness; make one small purchase per month and pay it off, but otherwise live off of the money in your checking account.  Most people cannot afford to do this, though.  If your card is already maxed out, if you make the minimum payment each month and do not make any new purchases, you will eventually pay it down.  You will pay less money over time, though, if you take out a debt consolidation loan and pay off your credit card debt, or at least pay it down as far as you can.

Work With a Debt Lawyer About Maxed Out Credit Cards

A South Florida debt lawyer can help you if your credit cards have been maxed out every month for as long as you can remember.  Contact Nowack & Olson, PLLC in Miami, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

cnbc.com/2024/10/17/survey-nearly-2-in-5-cardholders-have-maxed-out-a-credit-card-or-come-close.html