Avoid cash advances altogether since they rarely make financial sense, and if you’re contemplating moving to another card, use a balance transfer calculator to make sure the fees don’t outweigh the benefits. Try things like signing up for auto-pay, or setting reminder alerts for yourself. All that progress you made paying interest or accumulating rewards can go right out the window with a few penalty fees, so do everything you can to stay within your limits and pay your bills on time. Each time you get hit with one of these, think of it as a ten-yard penalty, immediately knocking you further from your goal. The most common types of fees are late fees, over limit fees, balance transfer fees, and fees on cash advances. No matter how you play the game, card companies will try to get more money out of you in terms of fees. ![]() Don’t be afraid to combine these types of cards to get the most out of them think of it as having multiple receivers who can cover the whole field and squeeze the most yards out of any play. I prefer cash back credit cards, but travel or gas rewards might be best for you. For example many cards offer bonuses of up to 5% on gas, groceries, or other categories, and some cards offer 2% back on all purchases. The key here is to take account of where you do most of your spending and align your rewards accordingly. Rather than fighting yard-for-yard towards debt reduction, you should be pushing to maximize your reward intake. On the other hand, if you are able to pay your balance off each month, you are in a better position to play long ball. So look into low interest credit cards, cards with 0% introductory APR offers, or special rates on balance transfers to minimize the defense and keep the game moving in your favor. Think of your interest rate (or APR) as the defensive line, and you want those guys as small as possible. Only paying the minimum is the same as running in place, which is exactly how the banks like it, so do what you can to either pay more or get your minimum payment down. Each month, just try to move the ball forward by paying off more than your minimum payment, and eventually you’ll have your goal in sight (which should mean low or no debt). If you are rolling debt over month-to-month, it’s going to be a long grind to the end zone. Decide if you’re playing a running game or going long Following are some strategy excerpts from the NerdWallet playbook. ![]() These tactics may be “evil”, or “unfair”, or whatever you want to call them, but if you take the time to learn the ropes, the game is winnable. The banks set the playing field, they make sure the odds are stacked against you, and the rulebook is buried somewhere no one will ever read it (like the Fed’s credit card agreement database), but it’s still a game many of us choose to play.
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