Get out of debt
Whether you have taken out student loan debt, have a mortgage, or got behind on your credit card payments; You can find a strategy to help manage your debt and get ahead!
Tired of sky high interest payments?
Paying down debt and increasing your credit score and seem like a daunting task. Learning a little bit about how the system works and creating a plan will make the journey much easier
Take back years of your life and stop throwing your hard-earned money away on interest payments. Increase your credit score and open up even more doors on your path to financial freedom.
Car
That new car smell and zero percent interest ran out? Learn about car debt and planning for the unexpected.
Credit Cards
Credit cards have many benefits but can quickly overwhelm you with high interest rates. Learn how to manage your credit card debt like a pro.
Mortgage
Buying a house is a great way to build equity. Find when buying a house is right for you and the best way to turn your real estate debt into a real asset.
Student Loans
Student loans can feel daunting. Here are some resources to help pay down your student loans and develop strategies to be free sooner.
Use this tool to help make a plan to get out of debt.
The key to getting out of debt
Borrowing money is very easy, the tricky part seems to be paying it back! Your bill is broken into two parts -> Principal and Interest. Th principal on a loan is the amount of money that you borrowed for that new card, that college degree, or those sweet new shoes on the credit card. Interest is the fee that you pay for letting you borrow that money. Sorry to break it to you, but you are risky in the person's eyes that gave you that loan. The riskier you are, the more interest you will pay.
Let us get the obvious out of the way: your goal is to pay back the loan principal as fast as you possibly can because this number is inflexible. The variable that you do have control over is how much you pay in interest. This is the key to paying down your debt fast. In fact, understanding interest is the key to your financial freedom once you get out of debt!
There are two ways to decrease the amount of interest you pay over the lifetime of the loan. You can choose to focus on the time of the loan, the interest percent, or a combination of the two. Focusing on time means that you will be paying more than the minimum payment, therefore, each one of your payments will apply much more toward the principal loan resulting in fewer payments and less money that you give away! The second way to decrease how much money you pay is by changing your interest rate. This one will take some effort but ClinkUp is here to help! You will need to be seen as a less risky borrower by increasing your credit score. When you have a better credit score, you can apply for much better interest rates - you can even get 0% interest in some cases. I know, it is completely normal to get excited at this point! Use our debt payoff tool to how these strategies can help you reach that $0 balance!
Payoff Strategies
Do I pay off the smallest loans first or the highest-interest rate loans first? The answer -- yes! It completely depends on you. Here are the pros and cons of both approaches to help you develop your debt payoff plan.
Avalanche
Snowball
How your credit score works
According to Fico your credit score is made up of a variety of factors to determine your reliability as a borrower. The more likely you are to pay back your loans quickly, the better your score will be. Your number can range from 300 to 850. When you are being considered for a loan, your credit score will determine whether you get the loan or not as well as the interest rate and terms of the loan.
Which came first - The good credit score or the dependable borrower? We all have to start somewhere while building up our credit score. Learn more about what goes into your score and strategies to improve each component that goes into showing lenders how awesome you are!
A quick overview of what goes into your score:
- 35% - Payment History
- 30% - Amount Owed
- 15% - Length of Credit History
- 10% - New Credit and recent credit checks
- 10% - Credit Mix
How much do your friends owe?
Sometimes it is helpful to see what everyone is working with to set goals for ourselves. This chart shows amount owed compared to age group.