The average American owes $6,501 in credit card debt,according to Experian.

Total payments will be $13,972 more than double the original balance.

You probably dont want to have debt like that hanging around for 13 years.

how to pay off credit card debt

You might also want to avoid paying twice as much for everything you buy.

Youll save a lot of money if you pay off credit cards faster.

Thats the focus of this guide from The Penny Hoarder:how topay off credit cards faster.

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7 Ways to Make Money if You Hate People

Do you avoid people too?

Enough small talk.Here are some waysto earn extra cash, without all of the social stuff.

But whateveryourreasons are, here are 11 ways to pay off credit card debt fast.

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Stop Using Your Cards!

This is an obvious one, but also not a universal suggestion.

If you normally have trouble withimpulse buyingon credit, put the cards away.

Well get to it in the next item on the list.

Did you know?

This is especially true if those accounts are older and/or have high credit limits.

So you may want to keep most accounts open, but just hide the cards.

But you never seem to make a dent.

Its because of those sky-high interest rates as much as 24% interest.

It can feel impossible to get ahead.

ButMoneyLioncould help you find offers to cut your interest rate by 70% as soon as tomorrow.

Thats 70%* lower than the average credit card interest rate.

And its the key to finally getting ahead.

If you have a credit score of at least 620, you could get up to $100,000.

And terms go up to 144 months.

Worried you wont qualify?

Take two minutes to check online andsee if you could cut your credit card interest rate by 70%.

*Based on creditworthiness.

Apply those savings to paying down the debt.

In theory if you could handle it using acash-back credit cardcan be better than paying cash.

Use the cash rewards to help pay down your debt.

Put money normally allocated to an emergency fund toward debt repayment.

What if you have an emergency?

See my list of101 ways to raise cash in a week, or use the credit cards youve kept.

Youll at least have reduced the interest charges up to that point.

For inspiration, take a lookat how one family cut their expenses by over $1,000 per month.

Working an extra day on overtime every other week could bring in thousands of dollars annually.

In general, any unexpected or extra income should go toward your debt including tax refunds or monetary gifts.

Then,sell everythingyou dont use on Craigslist or have agarage sale.

Use the money you raise to pay down those balances.

Its worth trying at least once for each credit card you have.

Knocking four interest percentage points off a $10,000 balance can save you hundreds of dollars in interest annually.

Add those savings to your debt repayment budget!

Then, do the same with whichever remaining card balance has the highest interest rate.

One exception is ifallyour cards have balances.

Pay this card in full every month to avoid any new interest charges.

Make Two Payments per Month

Most credit card companies use anaverage daily balanceto compute interest charges.

Instead of paying $400 toward a balance each month, make two payments of $200.

Youll lower the average daily balance so youll pay less interest!

In theory, paying every week would help even more, but may be too cumbersome.

One couple paid off a $2,000 credit card debt using abalance transfer.

If it’s possible for you to, pay off the entire balance during the zero-interest period.

If you cant, watch for other zero-interest offers when the current one is almost over.

If youre in serious financial trouble, explain the situation to the card issuer.

Offer to pay a portion of the balance owed as payment in full.

Beware:Forgiven debt can be taxable as income.

How quickly can you accomplish your goal ofpaying off your credit card debt?

It depends on your situation, debt level, and commitment.

Lauren Bowling used several of these strategies as part of her aggressive approach.

Shepaid off $8,100 of credit card debt in three months.

This may include building your savings, investing, or improving your credit score.

Steve Gillman is the author of 101 Weird Ways to Make Money and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com.

No Interest Til Almost 2027?

Balance Transfer = Credit Card Cheat Code