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Consumer debt relief strategy may not benefit all Ohio residents

On Behalf of | Aug 21, 2015 | Debt Relief |

Ohio residents may have heard various phrases pertaining to being happy for small victories. In some cases, small victories can be greatly beneficial to a situation or a person’s mindset. However, if an individual is trying to overcome consumer debt, using the small victories strategy may not always be the best route to consider.

With this method, individuals typically pay off credit card balances starting with the cards with the lowest balance. As a result, they may feel as if they have accomplished a small victory because one card’s balance is taken care of. This could potentially result in individuals feeling more confident in their abilities to pay off more of their debt over time. However, this strategy could also cause other potential issues.

Just because a credit card has a low balance, it does not necessarily mean that it should be tackled first. If an individual has other cards with high interest rates, those rates could accumulate while a party is focusing on their lesser balances. As a result, they may think that they are paying down debt, but they are actually continuing to accrue a substantial amount. This type of situation could result in more problems.

Though there are various tactics that parties may utilize when it comes to paying down consumer debt, it is important that the long-term results are considered. Additionally, Ohio residents should assess their own personal circumstances to determine whether a strategy could work for them. If individuals are considerably overwhelmed by debt, they may wish to look into bankruptcy options to determine whether they may benefit from such debt relief.

Source: CNBC, “Is the ‘small victories’ debt strategy a real win?“, Kelli B. Grant, Aug. 17, 2015

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