If you re unable to pay off the debt before the sweet deal ends, you could wind up worse off than you started. Make more than the minimum payment. The minimum payment printed on your bill is ingeniously calculated to ensure that you pay the highest interest for the longest time. It s your enemy. If you can t pay off the entire balance, pay as much as you can.
Every dollar shortens both the time and distance to debt-freedom.
Eliminate some of those interest-infested days by paying the bill the moment you receive it. Flee from fees. Your credit card agreement lists a host of fees and penalties that can be charged if you do something silly like send a late payment, go over your credit limit, or bounce a payment check. In most cases, these fees are just added to your balance, incurring interest immediately. That s good for the issuer charging interest on money they ve never lent you is extremely profitable to them.