Pay Credit Card Bill Early and Save

In 2005, the Corbett family had about $500 in savings and $12,000 in consumer debt. About half of the money they owed was a result of credit card obligations.

"We were spending every dollar that came in, and then some," says Jason Corbett, a 34-year-old nonprofit manager who lives in Soperton, Ga., with his schoolteacher wife, Molly, and their three children.

Determined to be debt-free, Corbett threw extra money at his debt to pay it down faster. He also used a simple but powerful technique to save a little more -- he began making payments before the billing due date.

"I discovered that if I paid my (credit card) bills sooner ... the interest that accrued would be lower," says Corbett, who documented his debt reduction progress in his blog No Credit Needed.

Eleven months later, the Corbetts were completely debt-free and had started saving.

Making early payments won't save you a ton of money each month. But the savings do add up.

Timing matters
Credit cardholders who carry a balance from month to month do not have a grace period; the credit card company charges interest every day of the month until the bill is paid. The cardholder loses a little money every time he or she makes a monthly payment around the same time as the statement due date.

In addition, this interest compounds. For example, on the second day of the billing cycle, a cardholder pays interest not only on the outstanding balance, but also on the interest charged on the first day.

By contrast, every early payment you make saves you a little money.

"Paying early is always better because the math works," says Scott Crawford, CEO and co-founder of DebtGoal.com, a San Francisco-based, free online service that helps consumers create a debt reduction plan and pay down debt.

"This strategy can save you money as long as your credit card interest rate is greater than that of your bank account -- or wherever you hold this cash," Crawford says.

These savings are modest but add up over time.

For example, imagine a cardholder with an 18 percent annual percentage rate, a $10,000 balance and a minimum payment of 3.5 percent ($350) of the balance. If the cardholder pays on the last day of the billing cycle -- finance charges for the period will total $152 on an average daily balance of $9,989.

However, if the same cardholder pays on Day 2 of the billing cycle -- long before the bill shows up in the mail -- the average daily balance falls to $9,661.

How much will this save in finance charges? Just about enough to buy a latte: $5 a month, or $60 a year.

Savings are even greater when the card interest rate is higher. At 29 percent, the cardholder saves $8 a month, or $96 a year.

While Crawford acknowledges such modest savings are "not going to move the needle too much," the strategy makes a small dent in the cardholders' mountain of debt.

Next: You need more than one strategy to rid yourself of debt. >

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