I Owe Money on My Credit Cards. Is There Any Way to Pay Them Off by the End of the Year?

If you're carrying a balance on your credit cards, rest assured that you're not alone. As of the third quarter of 2023, U.S. credit card balances were at $995 billion, according to TransUnion. And they also rose 15% from a year prior. This tells us that a lot of people clearly needed to borrow via their credit cards for different reasons over roughly the past 12 months.

Now, perhaps you ran into credit card debt because you encountered a home or car repair and didn't have enough money in your emergency fund to cover it. Or maybe you just lost track of your spending at one point during the year. Hey, it happens.

Either way, you may be eager to shed your credit card debt by the end of the year so you can start off 2024 with a clean slate. Whether that's doable, though, will depend on how much debt you have.

It's important to be realistic about your credit card debt

If you're an average earner with a $5,000 credit card balance, then chances are, it's not going to be gone by Dec. 31. And it's important to accept that.

You don't want to put undue pressure on yourself and ruin the holiday season for no good reason. So if your debt load is large enough, set a more realistic goal -- say, paying it off by the end of 2024.

However, it may be that you owe a smaller sum on your credit cards -- say, $500 or $800. It may be more feasible to pay off a balance of that size in about a month with the right approach.

If you don't think your credit cards can be paid off in full by the end of the year, then you may want to consider ways to consolidate your debt and make it less expensive to pay off. One option is to do a balance transfer to a new card with a 0% introductory APR. Another option is to consolidate your debt into a personal loan, where you'll benefit from a fixed interest rate (and, most likely, a lower interest rate than what your credit cards are currently charging you).

The gig economy could bail you out

Maybe you owe an amount on your credit cards that's reasonable to pay off by the end of the year with the right amount of effort. In that case, joining the gig economy could be your ticket to knocking it out in about a month's time.

Many local retailers are all staffed up for the holiday season at this point. But you might still manage to find a local business that needs more help.

You can also consider gigs like pet-sitting, since many people tend to travel during the holidays and therefore might need the help. And if you live near an airport, December could be a good month to drive for a ride-hailing service, as there might be strong demand.

Paying off a moderate amount of credit card debt by the end of the year may be feasible. But if you have a larger balance, be realistic.

And rather than get down about carrying debt into 2024, map out a solid plan to get it paid off. Having a game plan could help you feel better about your situation, since you'll know there's a light at the end of the tunnel.