Wondering Why Your Credit Card Balance Is Still Not Decreasing Even If You Wanted to Pay Off All Debts? Here Are Some of the Possible Reasons

You may have planned to pay all your debts but you may also be wondering why your credit card balance has not decreased until now. There could be various reasons for this and it would help to analyze the situation and see if any of these reasons apply to you so you could do something about it and finally pay your debts.

You Are Not Saving for Emergency

Unexpected expenses could happen like your car broke down or you got sick. If you are not saving for these emergency situations, you may end up using your credit card, which also means more debt. You’ll never know when these things would happen, which is why you need to set aside funds that you could use if you face these situations. This way, you don’t have to rely on your credit card to pay the bills.

You’re Continuously Using Your Credit Card

If you want to clear your debt, then you should stop using your credit card and instead, focus on paying your balance, until the full amount has been paid. Continuously using your credit card would keep on increasing your credit card balance. It’s best to leave your credit card at home and use cash to ensure that you wouldn’t be tempted on using it. With this, you can prevent purchasing unnecessary items with your credit card, as well as spending more than you should.

You’re Easily Persuaded by Others to Keep on Spending

You may be hanging around people who are pressuring you to keep on spending even if it’s beyond your means. For instance, you may not be able to say “no” when they ask you to go shopping, eat our or do other activities even if you don’t have the money for it. It would be difficult to get out of debt if you hang around these people. It’s best to be honest with them about the things that you can’t afford. If they can’t accept you for that, then it may be best to find other people to hang out with. Those that would understand your situation and wouldn’t drag you down to adding more debts.

Your Income Is Not Enough for Your Needs

Another reason why you may be having difficulties paying off all your debts is that your income may not be enough. One of the signs for this is that you use your credit card for buying your basic needs like your groceries. If this is the situation that you’re in right now, you may need to find a better paying job or an additional source of income to first and foremost pay for your basic needs and at the same time start paying for your debts.

You Only Pay the Minimum Balance

There’s a minimum balance that you could pay for your credit cards. However, if you could pay more than this, it’s best to do so, as this would also lower the interest rate that accumulates, which in turn would decrease the entire amount that you need to pay in the long run.

Aside from these things, another reason why your debt is still not decreasing is that you don’t have a budget or plan. Start working on your budget so you would know where your money is going and so you could focus on what matters most, which include paying off your debt.

Photo Attribution:

Featured and 1^st image by FaceMePLS from The Hague, The Netherlands (DSB pas en identifier) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

2^nd image by Magic wallet +27730009239 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons