Does It Matter Which Day Of The Month You Make Credit Card Payments?

If you are wondering about the best way to pay down your credit card debt, you should be grateful, because it means that you either have enough income each month to pay down debts, or you have a specific plan for how to get enough income to do that.  You might have been looking for personal finance hacks to get the biggest possible credit score boost for the amount of money that you can afford to put toward debt repayment this month.  For example, a debt repayment strategy called the 15/3 method has been trending on social media.  As with so many personal finance strategies, the important thing when it comes to working toward your goals of financial freedom is that you devote as much money as you can toward paying down your debts; the rest is just details.  The trouble is that most people’s debt problems are not due to lack of effort to live within their means, but rather that the cost of life is unaffordable.  For now, be assured that those few extra dollars you manage to pay each month above the minimum payment on your credit card bill are gradually boosting your credit score.  If you can barely afford to make the minimum payment and creditors keep harassing you, contact a Philadelphia debt collection abuse lawyer.

The 15/3 Hack Doesn’t Work, but Paying as Much Money as You Can Toward Credit Card Debt Does

The 15/3 hack is a debt repayment strategy where you make one payment toward your credit card balance (half the minimum payment amount) 15 days before the due date and then another payment (the other half of the minimum payment amount) three days before the due date.  The idea is that doing this will show credit reporting agencies that you are paying down your debt, thereby boosting your credit score more than if you had paid the minimum payment in a lump sum.  Paying your credit card bill is two installments can be a good budgeting strategy if you receive weekly or biweekly paychecks instead of monthly ones, but in reality, credit reporting bureaus do not care when you pay your credit card bill as long as you pay at least the minimum payment amount each billing cycle.  To get a real credit score boost, you will need to pay at least a little bit more than the minimum payment, so you can reduce the principal amount of your credit card balance.

Credit Card Debt Repayment Goals: Start Small

To see improvement in your credit score quickly, you should pay at least 10 percent above the minimum payment each month; if your minimum payment is $50, pay at least $55, and if it is $300, pay at least $330.  If you can afford to pay even more than that, your credit score will improve even more quickly.

Contact Louis S. Schwartz About Credit Card Debt

A Philadelphia consumer law attorney can help you if you are struggling with credit card debt.  Contact Louis S. Schwartz at CONSUMERLAWPA.com to set up a free, confidential consultation.

Sources:

madison.com/business/investment/personal-finance/the-15-3-credit-card-hack-is-nonsense-here-s-what-to-do-instead/article_27e5f6e4-76a5-57e5-8080-1bbd5be1aa08.html

cnbc.com/2023/01/26/how-to-improve-credit-score-tips-from-debt-expert.html