8 Ways to Come Up with Additional Money for Paying Down Credit Card Debt

Sometime it may seem just about impossible to come up with any money to use for paying down your credit card debt. Each month you make the minimum payment, but your balance never seems to decrease.  Here are 8 places to go to, to find a bit more money to help get your credit card balance paid down.

1.  Investments not used for retirement:  These might be mutual funds, Certificates of Deposit, savings bonds, stock shares or real estate.  It may be necessary to pay some taxes on whatever gains you get from selling or cashing in such taxable investments. However, the costs or penalties will not likely be as much as the interest that will keep on piling up on that credit card debt. It is better to cash out these taxable investments and use the proceeds to pay down your credit card debt.

2.  Monthly Subscriptions:  Carefully review each subscription you have.  Are you actually using them? Do you NEED all of them?  Do you use all the minutes you are paying for your cell phone? Is there a lower cost plan?  Do the magazines you subscribe to just get used for coffee table decoration? Does anyone actually read them?  Change or cancel all those subscriptions you can do without and and apply the savings to your credit card balance.

3.  Piggy Bank:  Maybe this might seem frivolous, but it works for many.  At the end of your day put all of your pocket change into a large jar.  Make a rule that this jar can't be used for anything else!  When enough money accumulated, use it to pay down the balance on your credit card.

4.  Sell It On EBay:  EBay's a good place to sell all kinds of stuff and it's easy. Go through your house, gather up all serviceable stuff that isn't being used. Then offer it for sale on eBay. It's surprising what people will buy! I've gotten a lot of bargains from there... computer games, used clothing in my size, lots of things that someone was not using and wanted to convert to cash.

5.  Set up a garage sale.  Warn your neighbors ahead of time. Tell them that you plan to have a sale. That way they can come by early and get the first choices.  Run ads in local newspapers and, more important, put up posters all around, especially on bulletin boards at local grocery stores. Wheen the sale is over, use all of the money you took in to pay down your credit card balance.

6.  Money from Life Insurance?:  Borrow funds on the current cash value for any life insurance policy you may have. Alternatively, cancel and cash in the policy outright. You can use term insurance; it's cheaper!

7.  Some general ways: you could free up extra cash are taking your lunch instead of buying lunch at work, carpooling, and cliping discount coupons for bargains at the supermarket.  Figure out just how much you saved, then religiously apply all of it to pay down your credit card debt.

8.  Stop using your credit card for anything but real emergencies! If you don't build up the credit card balance, it will make it easier to pay down. Do all you can to cut back on and be frugal with future purchases!

Every amount, large or small, helps.  Use your creativity! Think of more ways you can save, find or earn just any amounts of money that you can use to pay down the balance on your credit card.