While this technically isn\u2019t a way to get out of the hole, it\u2019s the first step towards eliminating credit card debt. Reasoning: if you continue to swipe away, any payments made will only offset the balance increases, not pay your balance down.<\/span><\/p>\n You may be thinking freezing all your cards is a stretch, especially if you don\u2019t have an emergency fund intact. If you\u2019re in this boat, keep the card with the lowest credit line at your disposal and commit to only using it if it\u2019s absolute emergency.<\/span><\/p>\n Tax season is right around the corner and you know what that means: Hefty bills for some and refunds for others. If you\u2019re fortunate enough to fall into the latter category, consider allocating a large portion, if not all, of your tax refund to credit card debt. It may be a bit painful to kiss thousands of dollars goodbye, but your wallet will thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n The same rule applies for work bonuses, financial gifts from family and friends, or any other windfalls.<\/span><\/p>\n Want to automate your debt-repayment efforts? Create a realistic budget and stick to it. That way, every dollar will have a name on it before the month starts and your credit card debt balances will have no other choice than to decrease. And while you\u2019re at it, tackle the most costly debts, in terms of APR, first.<\/span><\/p>\n We all have unwanted items lying around the house collecting dust. So why not place an advertisement on Craigslist or host a garage sale to make a little money? It will take some effort, but you\u2019ll rid your home of clutter while axing debt.<\/span><\/p>\n Do you enjoy walking dogs or babysitting? Maybe you\u2019re a great event planner or artist. Whatever your talent is, use it to boost your debt-reduction fund. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1. Freeze the Cards While this technically isn\u2019t a way to get out of the hole, it\u2019s the first step towards eliminating credit card debt. Reasoning: if you continue to swipe away, any payments made will only offset the balance increases, not pay your balance down. You may be thinking freezing all your cards is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":24783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1421],"tags":[333,334,382,303,1389,1390,399,675],"class_list":["post-23969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-borrow","tag-card-debt","tag-credit-card","tag-credit-card-debt","tag-debt","tag-debt-managementd","tag-debt-reduction-strategies","tag-get-out-of-debt","tag-way","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\n2. Financial Windfalls<\/span><\/h2>\n
3. Create a Spending Plan<\/span><\/h2>\n
4. Sell Some Stuff<\/span><\/h2>\n
5. Use Your Talents to Boost the Debt-Reduction Fund<\/span><\/h2>\n