Minimum Credit Card Payments vs Debt Settlement: The Difference

 Nobody likes to live with debt, but for many of us, life in the red is a reality. When looking at ways to eliminate the burden of a negative balance, there are a number of routes you can take.   

If you’ve got credit card debt, then you’ll know about minimum credit card payments. Simply making the minimum monthly payment may not be your ideal solution for becoming debt-free. You might want to consider debt relief. In this article, we’ll explain the main differences between making minimum payments and debt relief.

A short-term solution with long-term problems

Minimum credit card payments allow you to pay the least amount possible, month-by-month. Though this can be helpful when there’s little money in the bank, it doesn’t help your budget in the long term.

The minimum payment is usually calculated as a percentage of your total debt plus any fees, such as interest, that have been added to your balance. Failure to pay the monthly installment can result in extra costs and damage your credit score.

On the surface, minimum card payments can seem like an affordable idea, but in the long term, minimum card payments are extremely costly. Over time, this method of payment can mean that you end up paying triple, or even quadruple, the value of the original balance.

What’s more, credit card debt could stay with you for many years, preventing you from saving or making progress toward your financial goals.

Settle the score on your terms

While minimum card payments are a passive and inefficient method of debt repayment, a debt relief solution known as debt settlement involves proactively seeking an end to life in the red.

Instead of letting debts drag on, debt settlement helps you eliminate your debt at a fraction of the cost, and in a fraction of the time.

How is this possible? Well, with the help of a debt settlement company, their debt consultants can negotiate a much lower payment with their clients’ creditors. Often, it’s more than half off of the original debt.

What’s the right choice?

No one wants to have their debts hanging over them forever. Thankfully, options exist to help you get out of debt and take back control of your finances. While minimum card payments can seem good for the short term, in the long run, they simply don’t make sense. On the other hand, debt settlement offers individuals just like you a faster, and and more affordable way out of debt.

To learn how you can become debt-free in as little as 24 months, contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. You’ll be glad you did.