It’s no secret that Americans are in debt. But is $10K in credit card debt bad? The answer may surprise you.
The average American is carrying $6,270 in credit card debt alone (Source).
Now if you have $10,000 in credit card debt, that translates to roughly $300 per month on interest and payments for the next 10 years if you don’t do anything about it now.
But there are some things you can do to reduce your debt by a lot!
Here are some steps that most personal finance experts will tell you to take right away:
1) Analyze your spending habits – identify where all of your money goes; what you spend unnecessarily; whether or not there’s any room for budget cuts; etc.
You’ve probably already done this one right?
2) Pay off high-interest rate cards first (e.g., those with 20% APR or more).
If you could afford to pay off all your high-interest rate credit cards, you probably wouldn’t be reading this either right?
3) Consolidate credit card balances through a balance transfer.
If you had good credit to qualify for a low rate balance transfer, you would’ve done it already right?
4) Eliminate or decrease monthly expenses, such as subscriptions and memberships you don’t use frequently.
Oh here we go again, it’s the lattes and avocado toast that’s breaking the bank…
5) Seek professional help when DIY is too hard.
Now there’s an interesting one. Many personal finance gurus (ahem Dave Ramsey) say to avoid debt consolidation or debt relief companies and says you can do it yourself.
He says don’t pay someone to do something you can do for yourself.
While he has a bunch of professional services being promoted on his site and telling you to let the experts handle it.
If you’ve done everything you can do get your $10,000 in credit card debt under control and you’re still not getting anywhere, maybe it’s time to ask a pro by calling 800-482-1929 and talking to National Debt Relief.
You can explain your financial situation and ask about all your options to get out of debt.
Now $10,000 may seem like a mountain of debt but it’s not as bad as $20k, $30k or $50k or more in debt.
It’s all relative.
$10k in credit card debt may not seem insurmountable to someone with $50k in debt.
But you’re the one who has to deal with the debt you have so if you have $10,000 and it’s stressing you out, it’s a big deal.
You may be losing sleep worrying about it.
You’ve already tried everything to cut your expenses and you’re still struggling living paycheck to paycheck.
It’s ok to ask for help.
You don’t have to struggle alone.
You don’t have to regret not taking action sooner and asking for help.
You don’t have to feel embarrassed talking about your debt problems.
What are the alternatives if you don’t do anything about your debt now?
You could be stuck in this same situation 5, 10, 20 years from now, regretting not doing something earlier.
Wasting $100s and $1000s of dollars in interest each and every year.
Not going on vacation or spending as much time as you want with family and friends either because you cannot afford to or you have to work all the time.
You’ll experience one of life’s biggest financial regrets – not saving enough for retirement so you’ll always have to be working just to get by.
Every day dealing with the worry and anxiety of will you have enough money this month to pay all your bills.
Not to mention how it’ll affect your relationships.
So what do you have to lose by talking to a debt pro?
You can see how they can alleviate some of the daily financial pressure you’re under.
You could lower your monthly bills and finally have some extra money left in your bank account at the end of the month.
You can sleep soundly at night.
You can get some much needed breathing room in your life during these trying times.
Do yourself a favor and call National Debt Relief at 800-482-1929 and see how they can help you.
So to sum up – is $10k in credit card debt bad?
$10k on your credit cards is higher than the average credit card debt.
You could be stuck trying to pay it off for up to 10 years if you’re only able to make the minimum payments.
So if you’re struggling with the bills now, do yourself a favor and get some help before that $10,000 in debt grows to $20,000 or $30,000 or even $50,000 in debt.
About The Author
Adam Tijerina has written for over 14 years about personal finance including 10+ years at National Debt Relief, a BBB A+ accredited business helping families get out of debt. Adam has experience with resolving debt, having successfully settled $43,250 in credit card debt on his own. He has also co-authored two books about overcoming adversity and has been featured on Credit.com and USNews.com.