Your Tax Refund Can Really Pay Down Your Credit Cards

Credit cards. For some people, the term is pretty neutral, like talking about their house or talking about their car. They know it’s a debt, but it’s one that they are in control of. However for many more people, the term credit cards is usually something that’s pretty negative. It means that they are holding something that’s keeping them from getting the life that they ultimately want, and this is definitely not a good thing at all. If you really want to break out of your problems with credit cards, you will need to find a way to really make a good dent in your credit cards.

Now, it’s pretty likely that you probably pay money every month to the credit card companies, and this is definitely a good thing. You don’t want to have the cards charged off and sent to a collection agency — this will decimate your credit score. However if you’re only sending in the minimum payment every month, then you’re actually doing yourself a pretty big disservice. It’s better to try to reach for the lump sum payment that can attack both the principal as well as the interest.

This is a great time of the year to think about using your tax refund to pay down your credit cards. Instead of worrying about what you will have to suffer through high monthly payments, you might want to just put all of your tax refund towards your credit cards. Not only will you feel better about having them taken care of, but you might also pay off a small credit card completely.

If you haven’t gotten your taxes done and you just have your W-2 sitting there, why not go ahead and file? A lot of people assume that their taxes will be hard, but most online tax processors can get your taxes done in an hour or less. You won’t even have to pay a fee if you have an income under a certain value — your federal filing is free, and in many states your state taxes are also free to file as well. If you have dependents, then you can count on getting a much higher tax refund than you might expect due to some of the changes in tax law. This means that you will have even more money to put towards your credit cards.

Now, it’s pretty tempting to go and get your shiny new television set, or to buy new clothes. However, this is just going further into debt and that’s what you want to avoid. Think about the goals that you want to hit — wouldn’t it be better to get the goals you want accomplished than it would be to just let another year pass where you’re up to your eyeballs in credit card debt.

The choice is clear: pay down your credit cards with your tax refund. Don’t be surprised if you end up with a much lower monthly payment by doing so, or having your cards paid off almost entirely — why not get started right away in order to lock in those great benefits?