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Five Expenses to Cut to Help Pay off Your Credit Card

When trying to get out of credit card debt, it is wise to pay more than the minimum due each month. If you don't have the funds to pay more than the minimum, try cutting some of your other monthly costs to free up funds to apply towards your debt.

Cable/Satellite: Television bills can be extremely costly. Take a look at your bill and the programs and channels you actually watch. Cut out any unnecessary extras and movie channels to bring your costs down. If necessary, you may want to eliminate cable or satellite altogether. You can still rent (or even borrow for free from the library) movies or your favorite television shows on DVD.

Homeowners and Car Insurance: If your current deductible on either your homeowners or car insurance is $500, consider switching to a $1000 deductible to cut your current premium payments. You may also want to reconsider your entire car insurance policy. If you drive an older car, even a minor accident could cause damage that would cost more than the actual value of the car. In this case, you might want to eliminate collision coverage altogether. Also take a look at your driving habits, if you don't put a lot of miles on your car, you might be eligible for a discount.

Gym Membership: If you are only using the gym once or twice a week, it's not worth it to continue paying high monthly membership fees. Instead, check out how much it would cost to take exercise classes at your local community center, or purchase DVDs for at-home workouts.

Movies: The cost of a trip to the movies is becoming increasingly more expensive. Between food, drinks and tickets, it can cost a family of four somewhere around $100. Instead, opt for family game or DVD night at home.

Food: Most households rack up over $500 a month on food bills, with over $200 of that money going to eating out at restaurants. Cut back the cost of food by restricting or eliminating altogether the number of times you and your family eat out each month.

If you find yourself struggling to keep up with your debt payments, contact Advantage CCS. We are a nonprofit consumer credit counseling agency committed to helping our clients become debt free. Counselors are available via phone, online, or in person.