5 ways retirees can tackle their credit card debt

5 ways retirees can tackle their leistungspunkt card debt5 ways retirees can tackle their credit card debtYouve planned and saved for your retirement all your life and now that youve finally quit your job and embraced your retired lifestyle you have a problem. Your credit card debt is threatening to compromise your golden years.Seniors over 65 have anaverage credit card debtof $6,351 and those between 65 and 69 have even more $6,876 on average according to the US Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve.Because retirees have limited incomes, they sometimes have toresort to credit cardsto make up for shortfalls in their budget or unexpected expenses like medical emergencies. But that limited income also makes it particularly difficult for retirees to pay off debt. If you dont try to aggressively tackle and repay your credit card debt, it could end up ballooning and affecting your retirement.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity , Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreHere are some suggestions for how you can get rid of debt for good.Refinance Your DebtIf you have a significant amount of credit card debt, the first thing you should do is look into refinancing or consolidating your debt. Many seniors have good credit scores which means that you could qualify for a loan at a much lower interest rate than youre paying on your credit cards.If you own your own home, you could also take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and pay off your credit card debt with that. Because a HELOC is a secured loan which uses your home equity, the interest rate will be particularly low.By paying off your credit card debt with a low-interest loan, it will be mucheasier to repay your credit card debtsince more of your money will go towards the principal of the loan each month rather than the interest.Downsize Your BudgetYou might have had a particular retirement lifestyle in mind when you were planning for retirement, but y our credit card debt is compromising your financial health and its important that you focus on taking care of your debt now so that it wont impede your future.Start by looking at your budget to see what you can cut. If youre in a significant amount of debt, you might want to cut some of your big expenses. For example, you might want to sell your second car if you have two cars or downsize to a smaller house. Not only will you save money on monthly expenses by doing that, but you will make money from the sale of your home or car that you could potentially put towards your debt.If your debt is smaller or if you cant sell those assets, then you should look at other expenses such as food, entertainment, and travel and cut back. Use that extra money to put towards your debt in order to ensure that you pay it off quickly.Focus on the Highest Interest RateIf you cant consolidate your credit card debt, its important to focus on aggressively paying back the cards with the highest interest ra te first. You could also transfer your high interest balance to abalance transfer credit cardat a lower interest rate. This will ensure that youpay less overall in interestand are able to get debt free much more quickly.After you pay off the card with the highest interest rate, you should then switch your attention to the card with the next highest interest rate. This process is often referred to as a debt avalanche method since it is the quickest way to pay off debt.Get a Part-Time JobWhile many people think that retiring means you will never work again, a lot of retired people start a second career or take on a part-time job to stay busy or to make ends meet. Working a little could help supplement your retirement income and allow you to pay off your debt more quickly.This could also help boost your retirement savings to make up for your debt.Depending on your qualifications and experience, you could do some freelance or consulting work in the field that you previously worked in or you could try out a new career.Avoid Debt in the FutureNo matter what strategy you use to get out of debt, its important that you try to avoid debt in the future. That means that you should figure out why you went into debt and what steps you can take to ensure it doesnt happen again.For example, if you went into debt because you had an emergency, then make sure to save an emergency fund that you can tap into the next time something happens. Similarly, if you find you always go intocredit card debt around the holidaysdue to added expenses, consider cutting back or saving a bit every month to tide you over in December.Whatever you do, make sure that you dont get into credit card debt again.Jeff Gitlen writes about a wide range of finance topics including everything from student loans to credit cards to small business financing. Jeffs work has been featured on a number of sites including Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes, Market Watch, and more.This article first appeared on LendEDU.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people