Money Matters: Paying off debt

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The year 2020 was rough for many people and in 2021, many find themselves with increased debt.

Josh Bradley, of Capital City Financial Partners, says don’t make a bad situation worse by either ignoring your debt or adding to it.

He says simple, tried and true methods will help:

• make a budget
• contact your debtors to see if they can pause your payment plan or reduce interest rates
• with tax refunds (and possibly stimulus checks) on the way, use that money to pay off your debts
• consider refinancing while interest rates are at all-time lows

Bradley says it’s impossible to predict where interest rates are going, but as we’re currently seeing all-time lows -- now is the time to consider refinancing and reducing interest rates while you can.

How do you determine what debt to pay off first?

“We really like the snowball method. This means starting with your smallest debt possible with the highest interest rate and pay that off first,” Bradley said. “That way you get a debt completely off your balance sheet, it feels good, and you’re more prepared to step it up to that next payment that’s coming along.”

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