Credit card debt/balance

[rainydayfund]

My credit card is at £1000. Every month I pay a chunk off , feel great and then end up spending on it again. How can I get it down and keep it down until I've paid it off completely?? I go round in circles running it up, getting it down and running it up again. I can't afford to clear it in one go. Help!

Cut it up and get rid of it!

Stop spending more on it

Delete it from anywhere you have the details stored, and then cut the physical card up (or put it in a plastic bag then freeze it in an icecream tub if you might need it for a proper emergency). If you can't access it without serious effort, you can't use it

Cut it up
Otherwise you will keep using it

You need some really frugal months, so you don't need to spend on the credit card at all. How long do you think it would take to clear if you didn't spend on it?
And what sort of things do you end up buying on it? It will be much harder if you need to buy food and Petrol than if you are getting a 7th pair of shoes and dinner out.

Are you spending on fun things or on essentials? If it's the latter then you probably aren't going to manage going without for a month and will keep being trapped in the cycle. I would probably convert it to a loan with fixed, affordable monthly repayments and then cut the card up. Alternatively transfer it to a 12 month interest free and start putting day £100 a month into savings separately whilst trying to reduce what you spend every month so you will eventually have a lump sum big enough to clear the balance and get rid.

I would personally lean towards the first option. When I was in a similar position a few years ago (I owed more though!) I got a low interest loan with Monzo which meant that I could afford to live each month within my means, including the repayments rather than being trapped into spending all my money at the start of the month on clearing overdraft and cc and ending up back in the same position at then end! The Monzo loan is really good as it's really easy to make extra repayments so anytime I had a spare £50 I'd chuck it at the loan and it's gone down really quickly. It's also so nice to be out of the constant debt cycle and feel much more in control of my money, able to save etc.

Cut it up....end of

Delete the details from anywhere its saved. Half fill a tupperware with water and freeze, put the card in (weighed down with a few coins or something) fill the rest of the tub with water and freeze again. That way if you really need the credit you can use the card but if you dont really really need to spend on it its such a ball ache to get it that you dont bother. Sounds stupid but it really works.

Rather than pay off a chunk would yoi be better to pay smaller sums. Then you'd have spare cash for the month, then not needing to use the card. If you dont spend the cash then it can go off the card at end of the month.

Cut it up and get the balance transferred to a 0% deal, there’s quite a lot around at the moment.

What do you find you’re spending it on?

@Readyforspring

Rather than pay off a chunk would yoi be better to pay smaller sums. Then you'd have spare cash for the month, then not needing to use the card. If you dont spend the cash then it can go off the card at end of the month.

This, if you get a 0% deal and pay off £100 a month for 10 months it’s gone, or £50 for 20 months - see it as a longer process rather than trying to pay off big chunks that leave you short

Without further details it's impossible to advise as to what's best.

If you're using the card because you can't afford all your essential bills, then you might need more formal help.

If you're using the card because you're spending too much on non essentials, then you can free up money to pay the card off by cutting back for a few weeks/months as necessary.

To find out where you are between these two extremes, you need to review your budget to see if you can increase your income, cut any bills (eg broadband, TV packages, mobile phone bills etc) or identify how much you are spending on non essentials.

Have a look at the Moneysaving Expert Money Makeover and do everything that is relevant.

If you have a good credit rating, you might be able to move the card to a 0% deal to save paying interest. You might also be able to get a free £100 or so by moving your bank account. It all adds up.

I use it mainly for luxuries I don't need! Clothes mainly...

I can afford my bills and everything out of my monthly income but sometimes don't end up with enough to have a splurge which I've become accustomed to doing!!!

Get rid of the card. When it’s paid off, close the account.

You could take middle road. Example: Pay off £250 a month but allow yourself £50 a month budget to spend. Paid off in 5 months (maybe 6 if there is interest at work).

It can be too hard to stop all spending entirely. The goal is to pay it off and you can do that by always paying off significantly more than you spend each month.

You can have as many plans and systems as you like but it sounds like ultimately the problem is you're spending money you don't have on stuff you don't need, and you need to stop doing that. For me it was a change in mindset that did it - I just had to remind myself over and over that I didn't have that money to spend. I planned nice things to do that didn't cost money or were cheaper than the alternative (eg a fancy M&S pizza instead of Dominos, dry cleaning an old but previously much loved coat instead of buying a new one, going for so so many walks, etc).

It helped to remember that the credit card company was making a profit on my spending, so every interest payment I made was contributing to some arsehole finance executive's fortnight in the Seychelles instead of doing something nice for me. So basically I have achieved healthier finances via spite.