>>> NOW THE ANSWER TO TODAY'S AFLAC TRIVIA QUESTION. WHICH NFL TEAM HAS THE MOST HALL OF FAMERS? THE ANSWER, THE CHICAGO BEARS. >> CREDIT CARD DEBT IN THE U.S. REACHED A STAGGERING RECORD HIGH, TOPPING $1 TRILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK AS MILLIONS OF CARD HOLDERS CARRY BALANCES MONTH AFTER MONTH, YEAR AFTER YEAR CNBC'S SENIOR PERSONAL FINANCE CORRESPONDENT SHARON EPPERSON JOINS US NOW WITH STRATEGIES TO HELP THEM PAY IT OFF YOU GOT TO PAY IT OFF. THE INTEREST RATES ARE SO HIGH. >> YOU HAVE TO PAY IT OFF. IT IS AN INFLATION AND ROBUST SPENDING THAT HELPED PUSH AMERICANS OVERALL CREDIT CARD BALANCES PAST THE $1 TRILLION MARK IN THE SECOND QUARTER AND THAT'S ACCORDING TO NEW YORK FED RESEARCHERS.
AFTER A SERIES OF FED RATE HIKES, INTEREST RATES ON CREDIT CARDS HAVE NOW RISEN TO OVER 20% ON AVERAGE AND THAT'S MAKING IT AN EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE WAY TO BORROW MONEY FOR AMERICANS USING CREDIT CARDS TO COVER BASIC HOUSEHOLD COSTS AND MANY OTHER EXPENSES TOO >> IT IS NOT JUST FOLKS WHO ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO USE CARDS, IT IS FOLKS WHO ARE DOING IT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO, MAYBE THEY'RE INVESTING IN A SMALL BUSINESS OR REMODELING A HOUSE OR WHATEVER THE REASON MIGHT BE. YOU HAVE FOLKS WITH A LOT OF MONEY WHO ARE RUNNING UP CREDIT CARD DEBT. >> AND MANY OF THEM ARE CARRYING THAT DEBT FOR MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS. SO HERE ARE A FEW STRATEGIES TO HELP PAY IT OFF. FIRST, CALL YOUR CARD ISSUER AND ASK FOR A LOWER ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE. A LENDING TREE SURVEY FOUND ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF CONSUMERS WHO ASKED FOR A LOWER RATE GOT ONE ALSO, TRY TO SNAG A ZERO PERCENT INTEREST BALANCE TRANSFER CARD THESE CARDS OFFER 12, 15, 20 MONTHS WITH NO INTEREST ON TRANSFER BALANCES.
NOW, ONCE YOU GET UP WIONE YOU O BE AGGRESSIVE ON PAYING OFF AS MUCH OF THE BALANCE AS YOU CAN DURING THE INTRODUCTORY PERIOD IF YOU HAVE BALANCES ON MULTIPLE CARDS, FIGURE OUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO PRIORITIZE PAYING OFF THE HIGHEST INTEREST DEBT FIRST OR START WITH THE SMALLEST BALANCE AND WORK YOUR WAY UP TO THE LARGEST BALANCE. ONE STRATEGY ISN'T NECESSARILY BETTER THAN THE OTHER, EXPERTS SAY, JUST MAKE A PLAN, STICK TO IT, AND GET IT DONE. >> GET IT DONE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. >> THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. >> A LOT OF CONSUMERS HAVE TO MAKE A LOT OF TOUGH CHOICES WHEN STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS ARE DUE IN THE FALL. WHAT ARE SOME TIPS, ADVICE YOU GIVE THEM? >> YOU KNOW, THERE ARE TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE CARRYING DEBT YEAR AFTER YEAR. AND SO THAT IS A BIG CONCERN NOW WITH STUDENT DEBT REPAYMENTS STARTING IN OCTOBER. THAT'S A BIG X FACTOR.
WILL PEOPLE BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO MAKE THEIR CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS? SO NOW IS THE TIME THAT FINANCIAL ADVISERS ARE SAYING MAKE SURE YOU FIND OUT WHAT YOU OWE, CALL THE LOAN SERVICER, WHH MAY BE A DIFFERENT ONE THAN THREE YEARS AGO, MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MAY OWE IF YOU DO AN INCOME DRIVEN REPAYMENT PLAN AND THAT MAY BE A WAY TO CUT THE PAYMENTS MAYBE EVEN IN HALF THE PROBLEM FOR PARENTS WHO HAVE LOANS, THOSE PLUS LOANS DO NOT REALLY FALL UNDER INCOME DRIVEN REPAYMENT PLANS. THAT'S TOUGH BUDGETING AND MAKING THESE HARD CHOICES IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO. >> LIKE ANY DEBT, YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE INTEREST RATE YOU'RE PAYING, RIGHT AND SO YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBT MAY BE A MUCH HIGHER INTEREST RATE THAN YOUR STUDENT LOAN DEBT AND YOU HAVE A GRACE PERIOD ON YOUR STUDENT LOAN DEBT.
>> YOU HAVE 12 MONTHS BEFORE IT HITS YOUR CREDIT REPORT. SO THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT BUT I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT POINT. THIS IS A VARIABLE RATE THAT IS GOING TO GO HIGHER ON CREDIT CARDS. FIXED RATE LOANS, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU, AGAIN HAVE TO PRIORITIZE THAT PERHAPS HIGHER INTEREST DEBT AND GETTING THAT PAID OFF. BUT FINDING OUT IF THERE IS SOME.
