Tackle Credit Card Debt With Lutheran Social Service Counseling

UNDATED (WJON News) -- Many of us have a goal of getting our finances in order to start the new year, which likely includes paying down credit card debt.

Shannon Doyle is a finance education program manager with Lutheran Social Service Financial Counseling.

She says Forbes Magazine just said the Federal Reserve's average interest rate on credit cards is 28.65 percent. Doyle says that means if you have a balance of $7,500 you'll have a minimum monthly payment of $175, which would take you over seven years to pay it off, even if you never added another purchase.

However, LSS does have strategies to help including their Debt Management Plan where they work to lower your interest rates.

We work with creditors to lower credit card interest rates so that it makes them easier to pay off. But, not only that, because there are lower interest rates, often times it will lower people's monthly payments as well.

The Debt Management Plan also consolidates multiple credit card accounts into one payment and one due date. Doyle says the average person who enrolls in their plan typically pays off their debt in four-and-a-half years. Enrolling in the Debt Management Plan has a fee of 12 percent of your payment, but never more than $75 a month.

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Financial counselors with Lutheran Social Service can also help you with student loan payments, home ownership, improving your credit score, and balance transfer offers.