I’m 32 and have $27,000 in credit card debt

A financial expert has revealed the crucial way a 32-year-old with tens of thousands on his credit card can pay off the money quickly.

They sought debt help on the best way to get ahead from renowned radio personality and financial guru Dave Ramsey.

A 32-year-old with significant credit card debt sought the help of an expertCredit: Getty
Financial guru Dave Ramsey told them to follow crucial steps to get out of troubleCredit: The Ramsey Show

Dave told the caller, Katy, that despite how she may feel about the credit card debt, other circumstances in her life that she revealed to him during a recent episode of his show make it a “good problem to have.”

“I have $27,000 in credit card debt, I’ve used up 100% of my credit, I’ve dug a hole inside myself and I don’t know how to get out,” she told Dave and his co-host, George Kamel.

Dave first confirmed Katy’s age of 32 and then asked her about her annual salary, which she stated was a gross income of approximately $83,000.

“Is this the only debt you have?” the financial expert asked.

“It is,” Katy replied.

Since the $27,000 was her only debt, Dave was excited about the situation and what he and George could do to help.

“This is amazing, I’m so happy you’re here,” he told the 32-year-old.

“This is a good problem to have with this income Katy,” George added.

“We can clear this up quickly.”

Katy went on to explain that the $27,000 was split between six cards, with her Discover card carrying the highest balance at $12,000.

I’m 50 and retiring with $100,000 in debt. I’ve kept it a secret, but experts say the solution is my husband

She got into the situation while using the credit cards to help her transition to another job, and said she then became “addicted” to spending with the cards and it spiraled out of control to reach the current total. reaches.

CUT THEM UP

George was convinced that they needed to change Katy’s habits first to get rid of credit card debt quickly.

First he told her to cut the cards into pieces.

That way there wouldn’t be any chance of her being able to use them again.

He then said that Katy would start paying them off from smallest to largest so that the Discover would finish last.

George also said to ignore interest rates and just focus on progress, paying off small amounts step by step and building up.

CERTAIN BUDGET

The only problem is that Katy is a single mother and has bills with little money to pay off the credit cards each month.

That’s when Dave stepped in and offered the 32-year-old a free financial education program to help her, as he had been in a similar situation before.

He told her to adopt the mentality that she would do whatever it took to never be in the same position again.

What is a good credit score?

FICO, the most well-known credit scoring system, and its competitor VantageScore both use a range of 300-850 points.

Below we list what is considered a good and bad credit score according to both systems.

FICO

  • Bad: 300-579
  • Fair: 580-669
  • Good: 670-739
  • Very good: 740-799
  • Exceptional: 800 or higher

VantageScore

  • Very poor: 300-499
  • Bad: 500-600
  • Fair: 601-660
  • Good: 661-780
  • Excellent: 781-850

The pair of experts then sent her a budgeting plan that helped her track every dollar spent after she received her monthly checks.

“Any expense that is not necessary for survival will disappear into credit card debt,” George pointed out.

If we maintain that mindset and budget, the debt could be paid off quickly in a significantly short time, possibly even within a year.

For more related content, check out The US Sun’s coverage of the ‘zero-based’ budget trick a financial influencer used to pay off $20,000 in credit card debt in one year.

The American Sun also has the story of an American who followed Dave’s plan for nine months, got out of debt and saved seventeen times as much.