Having too many debts can be overwhelming. Which do you pay first? Does it matter? Should you pay the creditor that screams the loudest first?
Not necessarily. Some debts should take precedence over others because they can have worse consequences than others. Here are bills you should pay off first because they can affect you the most:
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to handling credit card debt. The cheapest way for you to get rid of it might be more expensive for your neighbor, and vice versa.
Here are five ways you can erase your credit card debt. The list starts with the less expensive method. Discover which option is the best and most cost-effective for you.
Vacations can be prohibitively expensive, a cruel truth for Americans who want to travel but don’t have the money. Many will resort to borrowing; a 2017 Learnvest survey found that 74% of Americans have gone into debt for a vacation, with the average debt accrued per trip at $1,108.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in the fourth quarter of 2017, mortgage debt in the United States reached $8.8 trillion, an increase of $139 billion from the third quarter of 2017. Mortgages comprise the largest amount of household debt, which increased for the 14th consecutive quarter. However, mortgage debt statistics vary widely across the U.S. states with the large disparity in median home value for homes with a mortgage ($137,300 to $602,700) and median household income for homeowners with a mortgage ($68,744 to $143,414), both affecting the ability to pay and the need to take out loans.
As of the fourth quarter of 2017, total student loan debt in the U.S. hit a record high of $1.38 trillion, up 152% over the past 10 years. For reference, total household debt only grew 6% over that same time period, according to data from The New York Fed. Outside of mortgages, student loans are now the largest source of household debt for Americans, greater than auto loans ($1.22 trillion) or credit cards ($834 billion).