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4 ways to pay off $10,000 in credit card debt quickly
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Credit card debt is becoming a problem for many Americans according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Credit card delinquencies are growing (now at nearly 9%) and almost one in five credit cards are maxed out. And this is all happening against a backdrop of persistent inflation, which is compounding the credit card debt problem in the United States.
But, what if you have $10,000 in credit card debt? Are you destined to join the borrowers who have fallen into delinquency or are there ways to pay your credit card debt off quickly? And, if you’ve already fallen into delinquency, are you out of luck?
The truth is that there are several ways to pay off $10,000 credit card debt quickly, whether or not your accounts are delinquent.
Get in touch with an expert to put your credit card debt behind you today.
4 ways to pay off $10,000 in credit card debt quickly
Here are four of the fastest ways to pay off $10,000 in credit card debt:
Take advantage of credit card debt forgiveness
Credit card debt forgiveness is a type of debt relief service that negotiates with your lenders on your behalf. The goal of these negotiations is for your lenders to forgive a meaningful percentage of your balance, making it easier to pay off your credit card debt, even in the midst of a financial hardship.
Though credit card debt forgiveness typically has a detrimental impact on credit scores, these programs can lead to meaningful savings in terms of time and money. Nonetheless, due to the negative impact these programs have on credit scores, they’re usually best for borrowers who are already delinquent or who are having a difficult time making their minimum payments.
Find out how much of your credit card debt can be forgiven now.
Consider credit card debt consolidation
Debt consolidation can happen in two ways: debt consolidation loans and debt consolidation programs. The former involves taking out a new loan to pay off multiple high interest credit cards. If you take this route, it’s important to make sure that your new loan’s interest rate is lower than the average interest rate on your current credit card debts.
When using a debt consolidation programs, a company will negotiate with your lenders to potentially cut your interest rates and reconfigure your repayment terms in a more favorable way. The goal is to save you time and money in your debt relief journey. And, while these programs may have a negative impact on your credit score, that impact is rarely as detrimental as that caused by credit card debt forgiveness. Moreover, as you make your payments on time, you could realize growth in your credit score.
Use your home equity
If you own your home, you may be able to use your home equity to pay your credit card debt off at a lower interest rate. “If someone has a $10,000 credit card with a 24.99% APR, and is paying $300 per month, it will take them four years and 10 months to pay off the balance,” explains Colby Van Sickler founder and CEO of the wealth management company, F3 Wealth Management. “The total interest will be $7,243.82.”
So, how much time and money would a home equity loan save you?
The average home equity loan interest rate is currently 8.79%. If you were to pay off a $10,000 credit card with a loan at this rate, you’d have a monthly payment due of around $125. However, if you made $300 monthly payments, it would take you about three years and three months to pay the debt off and you would pay $1,507 in interest. So, a home equity loan could save you a year and seven months in payoff time and $5,736.82 in interest.
Ask your lenders about financial hardship programs
Finally, it may be advantageous to reach out to your lenders directly for help if you’re dealing with financial hardship. Many lenders offer financial hardship programs that provide short-term relief from high interest rates and minimum payments. That relief could make it possible for you to pay your credit card debt off faster.
But, you may need to prove your financial hardship to qualify. For example, if a medical ailment caused a loss of income, your credit card companies may ask for copies of your medical bills before approving you for a financial hardship program.
The bottom line
If you have $10,000 in credit card debt, you may feel like it will take forever to pay your debt off. But it doesn’t have to. If you’re struggling to make your minimum payments or have already become delinquent, consider a credit card debt forgiveness program or reaching out to your lenders for financial hardship-related assistance. If you’re able to make your minimum payments, debt consolidation may be a suitable solution. And, if you own your home, consider using your home equity to pay your credit cards off faster.
Barry Enderwick is eating his way through history, one sandwich at a time. Every day from his home in San Jose, California, Enderwick posts a cooking video from a recipe that time forgot. From the 1905 British book “Salads, Sandwiches and Savouries,” Enderwick prepared the New York Sandwich.
The recipe called for 24 oysters, minced and mixed with mayonnaise, seasoned with lemon juice and pepper, and spread over buttered day-old French bread.
Rescuing recipes from the dustbin of history doesn’t always lead to culinary success. Sampling his New York Sandwich, Enderwick decried it as “a textural wasteland. No, thank you.” Into the trash bin it went!
But Enderwick’s efforts have yielded his own cookbook, a collection of some of the strangest – and sometimes unexpectedly delicious – historical recipes you’ve never heard of.
Harvard Common Press
He even has a traveling stage show: “Sandwiches of History Live.”
From the condiments to the sliced bread, this former Netflix executive has become something of a sandwich celebrity. “You can put just about anything in-between two slices of bread,” he said. “And it’s portable! In general, a sandwich is pretty easy fare. And so, they just have universal appeal.”
Though the sandwich gets its name famously from the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, the earliest sandwich Enderwick has eaten dates from 200 B.C.E. China, a seared beef sandwich called Rou Jia Mo.
He declared it delicious. “Between the onions, and all those spices and the soy sauce … oh my God! Oh man, this is so good!”
While Elvis was famous for his peanut butter and banana concoction, Enderwick says there’s another celebrity who should be more famous for his sandwich: Gene Kelly, who he says had “the greatest man sandwich in the world, which was basically mashed potatoes on bread. And it was delicious.”
Whether it’s a peanut and sardine sandwich (from “Blondie’s Cook Book” from 1947), or the parmesian radish sandwich (from 1909’s “The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book”), Enderwick tries to get a taste of who we were – good or gross – one recipe at a time.
RECIPE: A sophisticated club sandwich
Blogger Barry Enderwick, of Sandwiches of History, offers “Sunday Morning” viewers a 1958 recipe for a club sandwich that, he says, shouldn’t work, but actually does, really well!
MORE: “Sunday Morning” 2024 “Food Issue” recipe index
Delicious menu suggestions from top chefs, cookbook authors, food writers, restaurateurs, and the editors of Food & Wine magazine.
For more info:
Story produced by Anthony Laudato. Editor: Chad Cardin.
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