How can you reduce the interest you pay on a credit card and the time to pay off the debt?

Study for the FDIC AIDT Ready-To-Work (RTW) Money Smart Exam. Practice with multiple-choice questions, each with hints and explanations. Prepare for your assessment!

To effectively reduce the interest paid on a credit card and shorten the time needed to pay off the associated debt, paying off the balance in full each month is the most effective strategy. When you pay the full balance, you avoid accruing interest charges on any unpaid amount, which can significantly decrease the overall cost of borrowing on the card. Additionally, paying off the balance monthly prevents the debt from accumulating over time, helping to manage financial obligations more efficiently.

While taking out a personal loan can sometimes provide a lower interest rate compared to credit cards, it does not directly reduce the interest on existing credit card debt nor eliminates the time to pay that debt unless the loan is specifically used to pay it off. Making only minimum payments, on the other hand, prolongs the debt repayment process and leads to accumulating interest, as the remaining balance continues to accrue interest charges.

Hence, the combination of paying the balance in full each month and potentially using strategies like a personal loan, selectively, contributes to reducing the overall interest burden and facilitating quicker debt repayment.

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