What if you can’t pay your credit card bill?

It’s your first time that you got a credit card and you got carried away.

You ate out a lot, splurge during the weekends, and went on expensive vacations. You bought that new iPhone too soon and treated your boyfriend or your girlfriend to an expensive meal. You thought that you’re the king of the world and the power of your credit card is within your reach – literally.

Now you face the dilemma that you seem won’t be able to pay your credit card.

Stop being hard on yourself and move on. There are still ways where you can pay your bill! For instance, you could use the credit card on offer from SoFi which is “designed to save, invest, and pay down debt”. So there is no need to panic. However, being more financially responsible can lead to stability. If you have no idea how you can pay your bill, then check out these tips on how you can do so. Hope you will learn to be more responsible the next time.

Opt for a balance transfer

A balance transfer is a process of transferring existing debt from a current card to a new credit card to get lower interest rates while paying off debt. It simply means that your new credit card issuer agrees to pay the debt obligation you have with the original lender on your behalf. The balance is then transferred to your new credit card—only this time with a lower interest rate. Check out different credit card options before you do the big transfer. Security Bank credit card offers 0% interest on balance transfer.

Pay the minimum balance

Pay in minimum. Yes, you can do that. Before they issue your card, banks have already made sure that you’ll be able to settle the minimum payment, which is roughly 1% to 5% of your bill. To make sure that your balance won’t increase, stop using your credit card altogether as long as you haven’t paid your minimum balance. Figure out how much you can afford to pay per month and call your bank to see if you can move to an instalment plan or a balance transfer.

Negotiate

Call your bank and set up a meeting with a representative. Have the courage to negotiate your current status. By providing the bank with proof that you can actually repay your debt, they can give you a chance to pay it over a long period in instalments—usually ranging from 12 to 60 months. Keep in mind that banks would be more than willing to negotiate rather than have their clients default on their debt. You better show them that you still have a stable job and that you have no other outstanding debts that may get in the way of paying your credit card debt.

What you can learn

A credit card means that you have to be more responsible and more mature with handling money. Just because you have one doesn’t mean that you are going to be neglectful. Use your card only when you have a necessary purchase. Do not make purchases that are simply out of your reach.