Three expert strategies to accelerate debt payoff

SPOKANE, Wash. — Drowning in debt? Three simple tweaks to your payment strategy could save you years of payments and thousands in interest.

Barin Saxton from Canopy Credit Union says the first fix takes just seconds but delivers huge results.

“A few seconds and you could save 10 years plus,” Saxton said.

Don’t let your minimum payments shrink as your balance drops. Lock in that initial payment amount.

“Instead of setting it up automatically as a minimum payment which will lower over time, it just will always be that same dollar amount that only takes a few moments, right?” Saxton explained.

Saxton said just adding $20 to $30 dollars to each of your monthly payments can also cut years off your payment timeline.

“For example, with that 3,000 debt, 20 percent interest rate, you’d be starting out with minimum payments of 75 dollars. If you were to just add another 25 dollars on top of that, you’d have it paid off within years, which is a lot better than 20,” Saxton said.

Next step, attack one card at a time.

If you have multiple credit cards, stop spreading small payments across all of them. Experts say pick one and go all-in.

You’ve probably heard of the snowball method. Pay off your smallest debt first. But Saxton offers a better approach.

“There’s another method that can save you even more money which is called the avalanche method,” Saxton said.

Target your highest interest rate card first. Every dollar you throw at high-interest debt works harder than money spent on lower-rate cards.

Third, watch out for debt settlement traps.

Debt consolidation loans can help simplify your payments. But financial experts say steer clear of debt settlement companies that promise to slash your balances.

“What actually ends up happening is they wait for your debts to get more and more delinquent and to the point where these creditors are desperate to negotiate,” Saxton explained.

That can negatively impact your credit score, so be cautious.

Last, turn to financial experts at your bank or credit union for free guidance.

Before you consider settlement companies, talk to a financial coach at your bank or credit union. Most offer free consultations to help you pick the right strategy for your situation.