If you’re having trouble paying off debt, you’re not alone. Consumer credit reporting company Experian put out a new survey that shows more people are struggling with getting debt under control.
The survey found that about 36% of adults took on an additional job or side hustle to pay off debt, while about 26% said they used the snowball method, which involves prioritizing smaller debts first.
“It can affect people’s lives, and it’s very common, unfortunately,” said Rod Griffin, senior director of Consumer Education and Advocacy for Experian, noting that the fourth quarter of 2024 revealed how household debt surpassed $18 trillion.
Griffin said no matter what it is, you do have to have a budget and a plan for moving forward.
“Sort of rolling down the hill and growing as you go. And what I always tell people is you have to find what works for you,” he said. “There is no one right answer.”
One thing that can be tricky for a lot of people these days are subscriptions.
“Something called a subscription creep is a real thing today. We all have apps and we have streaming services that we are automatically paying for with a credit card every month in most cases, and may not even be using them at all,” Griffin said.
He recommended looking over what you’re subscribed to and cancel the ones you don’t use as much.
But it often takes some creativity to get those bills under control.
“For most people, it’s credit card debt. That’s the thing that gets out of control in a hurry,” Griffin said, adding that credit card balances are now in excess of $1.2 trillion in the U.S.
“It’s easy to swipe a card or now just touch a card, or even use your phone to tap and make a charge and buy stuff without a plan.”
Griffin underscored that “you have to build a a habit of not taking on debt and not spending without a plan while you’re reducing your debt, or you can find yourself back in debt really quickly.”
WTOP’s Andrew Alsbrooks contributed to this report.
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