Works for Me Wednesday: Paying Debt

My debt story is the same as a lot of people. I'm not frivilous. I didn't max out my cards on silly things. It's more like I was dumb about how they work. There are so many sneaky tricks they play on you! But that's beside the point. I'm slowly paying it off and I like anything that puts me in control. I've read in several places that a good idea is to pay in weekly installments instead of monthly. Just make sure you meet the minimum by the deadline, of course. The idea is that it's easier to pay $25 a week than one big $100. And you can round it up to pay even more without it really hurting too much. In other words, if I'm paying a minimum of $240, instead of paying $60 I'll pay $65 or $70. So how can I make this easier on myself? My WFMW tip is this: Get some blank address labels and use a computer program to make labels addressed to the c.c. companies! I have a whole sheet for Bank of America and another for Capitol One. I made up some form letters that say: "Dear ______, Please accept the enclosed payment for my account ending in 1234. Sincerely, My name, address and phone number." This way all I have to do is stick the label on an envelope, print and sign the letter, write a check and add a stamp. Having the labels means I don't have to hunt down the address! I hope this helps some people. Debt is a nightmare, and any way we have of getting out of it sure 'works for me!'