This 21-Day Challenge Will Help You Get Rid of $5,000 of Debt
If you have credit card debt, you know. The high interest rates, the constant anxiety, the feeling you’ll never escape…
But today’s the day that’s all going to change. It’s time to finally pay off your credit card debt and live your life with a little less money stress by committing to this 21-day debt payoff challenge.
You ready? Follow these steps to finally conquer your credit card debt:
Day 1: Ask This Website to Help Pay Off Your Credit Card Bill
No, like… the whole bill. All of it.
While you’re stressing out over your debt, your credit card company is getting rich off those insane interest rates. But a website called Fiona could help you pay off that bill as soon as tomorrow.
Here’s how it works: Fiona can match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every credit card balance you have. The benefit? You’re left with just one bill to pay every month, and because the interest rate is so much lower, you can get out of debt so much faster. Plus, no credit card payment this month.
Fiona can help you borrow up to $100,000 (no collateral needed) with fixed rates starting at 5.20%.
Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call a bank. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.
All that credit card debt — and the anxiety that comes with it — could be gone by tomorrow.
Day 2: Get Paid to Play Bingo
There’s a free app called Bingo Cash that pays you up to $80 every time you win bingo. That’s money that can go right towards your credit card debt!
The game is based on a classic Bingo format — plus tons of variations on the game. You’ll battle it out against other players at your same skill level. Everyone gets the same board and sees the same Bingo balls, so winning is totally a matter of skill. The top three players in a game can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $80.
Over on the App Store, it has a 4.7-star rating (out of 5).
To get started, just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.
Day 3: Cancel Your Car Insurance
Here’s the thing: your current car insurance company is probably overcharging you. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.
Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.
EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.
Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.
Day 4: Get a Free $83 for Winning a Game of Solitaire
Lots of us already play Solitaire on our phones for fun or just to pass the time. Want to see if you can win money at it?
There’s a free app called Solitaire Cash that pays up to $83 per win — that’s an extra credit card payment!
You might be thinking: There’s got to be a catch. This is definitely one of those spammy apps, right?
Wrong. There really isn’t a catch. Most of the games are free, but cash players can join higher-stakes tournaments for bigger cash prizes. But there’s no pressure — there aren’t even any annoying ads.
With each game, you’ll battle it out against at least five other players. Everyone gets the same deck, so winning is totally a matter of skill. The top three players who solve the deck fastest can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $83.
Over on the App Store, it has over a million downloads and more than 15,000 ratings, averaging 4.7 stars (out of 5).
To get started, just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.
Day 5: See If Your Credit Card Company Made a Mistake
Did you know that one out of five credit reports has an error on it?
That’s right. Your credit card company could be ripping you off by reporting the wrong balance or payment history.
Thankfully, a website called Credit Sesame will help you detect any errors — for free. If you find any, it will even help you dispute them with your creditors.
Want to check for yourself? It only takes about 90 seconds to get your free credit report and fix any errors your credit card company is making.
Days 6-7: Build a Sustainable Budget
Now it’s time to build yourself a budget. We’re giving you two days for this because we get it: This can be overwhelming.
Oh, yes, we hear your groaning from here, but budgeting is an integral part to paying off your credit card debt, and it’ll help you accomplish your financial goals. Plus, it doesn’t have to be that difficult.
We suggest using the 50/20/30 budgeting method. It’s easy and offers a lot of flexibility. Here’s what it looks like:
- 50% of your monthly income goes toward living expenses. These include rent, mortgage, utilities, groceries, car payments, gas and loan payments.
- 20% of your monthly income goes toward money goals, which can include investments, savings and debt-reduction payments above the minimum amount.
- 30% of your monthly income goes toward personal spending. That’s everything else.
Because you want to pay off your credit card debt, you’ll want to focus on building your minimum payments into that 50% category. Then any additional efforts will get wrapped into the money goals category.
If you’re struggling to make your expenses fit perfectly into each category, feel free to adjust the proportions. Like we said, this is super flexible, so use it to suit your needs and hit your goals.
Day 8: Get Paid $225/Month While Watching Movie Previews
If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.
It’s too good to be true, right?
But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.
No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.
Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.
Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.
Days 9-16: Commit to a “No Spend” Challenge
You’re making good progress so far! Now it’s time to really pour fuel on this fire by committing to a week of no spending.
That means you won’t spend any money on nonessentials this next week. Definitely still pay rent, your utilities — all those responsible grown-up bills — but don’t spend anything on entertainment, clothes or dining out.
Yes, this will be difficult, and you will face temptations. But this is a great way to reset your spending habits and save up some extra money to put toward your debt.
If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can go for a full month, like personal finance writer Jamie Cattanach. She committed to a No Spend November, to help tame some of her holiday spending. When Cattanach finished her challenge, she saved more than $600. Not bad, right?
Days 17-20: Get a Free $80 for Playing This Cell Phone Game
We all have our favorite ways to kill time. A good book, a good conversation, a hockey game.
Here’s another good time-killer: Playing games on your iPhone. And what if you could play for money? Real money?There’s a free iPhone and iPad app called Bubble Cash that pays you to play. You can get paid up to $80 per win!
You might be wondering if there’s a catch. But there’s really not. Bubble Cash is free to download and is completely skill-based. And it’s quite popular. It has more than a million downloads and averages a rating of 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store.
Players have won hundreds of thousands in prize money so far.
To get started, just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.
Day 21: See If You Can Get $80/Month From This Company
Whew! You’ve almost completed the challenge. How are you feeling? You should be proud of yourself for committing to pay off your debt.
Taking surveys might not sound like the best way to pay off debt, but if you’re just vegging out on the couch — or pretending to be interested in your partner’s new favorite show — why not click a couple buttons? It could earn you up to $80 a month. Seriously.
There are a bunch of paid survey sites out there, but one of the best we’ve found is Survey Junkie.
They’ll ask you questions about things like, what kind of laundry detergent you use, or if you prefer Pepsi or Coke. You get points for answering, and many people accumulate enough points to request a check within a few hours.
More than 10 million people already use Survey Junkie, and it has 4.5/5 stars on TrustPilot. Give it a try by visiting Survey Junkie and clicking the “Join Now” button. It’s free.
