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Not all debt is bad. In fact, taking out loans and using credit cards responsibly is how most people build credit to access low-interest loans in the future. However, a problem arises if budgeting is poorly managed or finances become tight.

In either case, it’s easy to slide further and further into debt with no clear path to financial freedom. Before you know it, you may end up with $50,000 in credit card debt, which can feel insurmountable. But instead of throwing up your hands, here are some tips for how to pay off $50,000 in credit card debt and get your finances back on track.

Tips for Paying Off $50,000 in Credit Card Debt

Unsure of how to pay down $50,000 in credit card debt? Here are some paths forward you may consider, depending on your financial situation and preferences.

1. Pay More Than the Minimum

If you only pay the minimum balance on your card each month, it will take you much longer to pay off the debt. That’s because you will continue to pay a high interest rate. If you can pay off more than the minimum and start chipping away at the principal loan amount, you’ll pay less in interest over time, and the debt will disappear faster.

2. Focus on High-Interest Debt First

High-interest debt is the most expensive, so you’ll save money if you can get rid of it sooner. Check your credit cards to see which one has the highest annual percentage rate (APR), and then pay that one off first. Then, use the amount you save once that card is paid off to work on paying down the card with the next-highest APR.

3. Pay Off the Card With the Lowest Balance First

A different approach to paying down credit card debt is to initially focus on the card with the lowest balance. This is known as the snowball method, and it can help you stay motivated to pay down debt when you see each card’s balance getting paid off one by one.

4. Review Your Expenses

You might be able to free up cash to put toward paying off your credit card debt by taking a close look at how you spend your money and perhaps creating a budget that’s a bit stricter.

A good place to start when looking for areas to cut back are monthly subscriptions that you’re not using or don’t need, such as streaming services or audiobooks. You might also consider whether you can change your lifestyle. Look for ways to reduce your expenses — perhaps you can eat out less, buy cheaper groceries, or downsize your home.

5. Use Extra Cash to Pay Down Your Debt

If you’re lucky enough to receive a bonus at work or an unexpected windfall, use it to pay down your debt rather than adding it to your spending pool. Also think about whether you could take on some gig work, which would allow you to increase your income temporarily while you focus on paying down some of your debt.

Debt Management Program

Another option you might explore to get a handle on $50,000 of credit card debt is a debt management program (DMP). Credit counseling agencies offer DMPs to help people better manage their finances through education and counseling.

These agencies are non-profit organizations that assign counselors to individuals who need help. The counselors provide advice and guidance, and negotiate with the client’s creditors to develop reduced payment plans. Creditors are eager to get paid back, so they’re usually amenable to lowering interest rates and waiving fees for clients who work with a DMP and show they’re serious about repaying their debt.

If you choose to work with a DMP, you’ll usually make a single monthly payment, which then gets distributed to your creditors. The DMP will lower the amount of interest you’re paying overall and remove late fees, which means more of your money goes toward paying down your principal. This translates to your debt getting paid off quicker.

There’s usually a fee for a credit counselor’s services, and you will be required to close all of the accounts under the DMP so that you don’t continue to rack up debt. Still, a DMP can help relieve financial stress since you’re taking concrete steps to improve your financial situation.

Credit Card Debt Forgiveness

Credit card forgiveness occurs when a creditor forgives you of debt. While this might sound like a surefire path to financial freedom, this is rare for credit card companies, and it usually comes at a cost. Instead, what credit card companies might do is agree to negotiate a settlement whereby you pay a portion of the amount you owe with penalties. If you’re three or more months behind and unable to catch up with payments, it’s possible to negotiate a settlement with a credit card provider.

That being said, a creditor is more likely to offer forgiveness right before selling your debt to a collector because they’ll have to sell the debt for less than the full amount you owe and lose money. Negotiating a settlement with you instead may minimize their losses. It’s even easier to pursue debt forgiveness from a debt collector because collectors can profit even if you only pay some of the amount you owe.

Note that forgiven debt is considered income by the IRS, so you will owe taxes on the forgiven amount.

Additional Options for Paying Off Debt

Other options for paying off $50,000 in credit card debt include taking out a debt consolidation loan, which is a common type of personal loan, or turning to a home equity loan or a balance transfer credit card.

Home Equity Loan

If you have equity in your home, a home equity loan might offer a lower interest rate than your credit card and provide cash to pay off some of that higher-interest debt.

However, you will have to factor closing costs into the equation. Also know that you’re putting your home at risk if you can’t stay on top of monthly payments.

Personal Loan

Among the many common uses for personal loans is debt management and consolidation. If approved, you can use the funds you receive from a personal loan to pay off your credit cards. This will consolidate your debt, leaving you with just one payment to worry about each month.

Ideally, you’ll be able to secure a lower interest rate as well, which can offer savings. A personal loan calculator can help you determine if lowering your interest rate and monthly payments with a personal loan could help you save on total interest.

Recommended: Get Your Personal Loan Approved

Balance Transfer

With a balance transfer, you move your existing credit card debts to another card, ideally one that offers a lower interest rate. Some balance transfer credit cards even offer a temporary introductory APR that’s as low as 0%, though you’ll generally need solid credit to qualify for the most competitive offers.

Just note that a balance transfer fee will apply, so you’ll need to factor that into your overall costs. Also make sure that you’ll be able to pay off your balance in full before the introductory APR ends — otherwise, the interest rate could rise dramatically.

The Takeaway

Figuring out how to pay off $50,000 in credit card debt can seem overwhelming. Luckily, there are a number of options at your disposal. You might try a debt payoff method like the debt snowball or the debt avalanche, or you might look for ways to cut back or bring in extra money to put toward debt payments. Seeking help through a DMP is another option if you’re struggling to get your financial life back in order.

Another possibility is consolidating your debt by taking out a personal loan. Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $100,000, and it’s possible to get funds the same day you sign – or you could have SoFi pay off your credit card directly.

FAQ

Should I sign up for a debt management program?

Consider signing up for a debt management program if you feel overwhelmed by your debt. A credit counselor can consolidate your debts into one payment and simplify the debt repayment process, as well as offer general advice and guidance.

Should I seek credit card forgiveness?

Credit card forgiveness is rare to receive. However, you might be able to negotiate with your creditor to reduce the amount you owe, which can help relieve some of your debt burden.

How long will it take to pay off $50k in credit card debt?

How long it will take you to pay off $50,000 in credit card debt depends on the APR and the amount of your monthly payment. For example, assuming you’re not continuing to add to your debt, if you have an APR of 19.07% and make monthly payments of $2,000, it will take you 33 months to pay off your debt. If you were only paying $1,000 a month at that APR, it would take you 101 months.

Photo credit: iStock/milan2099

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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A straddle is an options trade with which investors can profit regardless of which direction an asset moves. Because of this, a straddle is considered a “neutral options strategy.”

Long straddles are used when an investor expects greater volatility in an underlying asset. They involve buying a call option and put option simultaneously. Short straddles are used when an investor expects little movement in an asset. They involve selling a call and a put at the same time. It’s important to keep in mind that straddles are a complex options strategy that aren’t suitable for most investors.

Understanding Puts and Calls

A call option gives investors the right, but not the obligation, to buy an asset. A put option versus a call gives the right to sell. A seller of a call is obligated to deliver the underlying asset if the buyer exercises the contract. Meanwhile, a seller of a put is obligated to buy the underlying asset if the contract is exercised.

Long straddles are popular when investors anticipate an event will significantly move a stock’s price, such as after a company’s earnings or big product announcement. On the flip side, short straddles are common when investors think volatility expectations are too high, meaning that share prices will move sideways or only change slightly.


💡 Quick Tip: The best stock trading app? That’s a personal preference, of course. Generally speaking, though, a great app is one with an intuitive interface and powerful features to help make trades quickly and easily.

How to Put on a Straddle Trade

In options trading, an investor can put on a straddle in two ways: 1) They can buy a call option and put option. Both contracts need to have the same strike price and expiration date. Or 2) They can sell a call and put option that both have the same strike price and expiration date.

In options terminology, the strike price is the level at which the options contract can be exercised. For instance, say a stock is trading at $10 a share and a call option on it has a strike price of $12. If the stock reaches $12, the investor has the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the option.

An option’s expiration date is the date by which the call or put must be exercised. So an investor has until the expiry to exercise the option by buying or selling the underlying asset. After that date, the options become worthless. Another important term for options investors is the premium. This is the value or cost of the option itself.

Examples of Straddles

The two types of straddles discussed here are the long straddle and the short straddle. These are just two of many different options trading strategies.

In a long straddle, the move in the underlying asset needs to exceed the cost of the two premiums — one for the call, one for the put — in order for the investor to break even on the trade. The cost of the two premiums is the maximum amount of money the investor can lose. In a short straddle, the cost of the two premiums is the maximum amount the investor can earn from the trade.

Long Straddle Example

Let’s say an investor believes Company A will either soar or plummet after releasing its quarterly earnings call. Company A’s shares currently trade in the market at $50 each.

In order to put on a long straddle, the investor pays $2 for a call contract and $2 for a put contract for a total cost of $4. Both contracts have a strike price at $50. The total cost for the investor will be $400, since each options contract equals 100 shares of stock.

So in order for the investor to break even on the trade, the stock will have to either rise above $54 a share or fall below $46. That’s because $50 plus $4 is $54, while $50 minus $4 is $46. Here is the formula to calculate the breakeven levels in long straddles:

Upper breakeven level = Strike price + Total cost of options premiums

Lower breakeven level = Strike price – Total cost of options premiums

Short Straddle Example

In a short straddle trade, the investor sells a call and put that have the same strike price and expiration. An investor might do this when they believe the market’s expectations for volatility in a stock are too high.

Say for instance, the implied volatility for Company B has climbed substantially. Implied volatility is the market’s expectations for volatility in an asset. In other words, the market believes Company B will see a big stock move after making a product announcement.

However, one investor thinks these expectations are inflated. If the stock’s move after the announcement is actually muted, the value of both the calls and puts would drop quickly. Meanwhile, the short-straddle investor has benefited by having collected the premiums from selling the options.

However, the potential investment risks of a short straddle trade are high, because the underlying asset’s potential to climb higher is unlimited and an investor may have to pay the market price to cover the short call.

Pros & Cons of Straddles

Pros of Straddles

1.    Market neutral: Investors can benefit from an options trade even if they’re uncertain which direction the underlying asset will move.

2.    Premiums costs: With long straddles, the cost of premiums could be relatively low. Say for instance an investor finds a stock that they believe will see high volatility. Meanwhile, the cost of the calls and puts are not yet too expensive. The investor can potentially make a profit from this long straddle trade.

3.    Volatility bet: With long straddles, investors can make money when an asset’s stock volatility is high.

Cons of Straddles

1.    Pricey premiums: It can be tricky to get market timing right. When implied or expected volatility for an asset is high, the price of options premiums can also rise. This means investors looking to put on a long straddle trade can encounter costlier premiums. Plus, with long straddles, investors have to pay the cost of two premiums.

2.    Time decay: Options lose value as they get closer to their expiration date — a concept known as theta or time decay in the derivatives market. Time decay may become a concern if market volatility is low for a while and an investor is trying to exercise a long straddle position.

3.    Potential losses: In a short straddle, the potential loss is unlimited while the potential upside is limited.

💡 Quick Tip: If you’re an experienced investor and bullish about a stock, buying call options (rather than the stock itself) can allow you to take the same position, with less cash outlay. It is possible to lose money trading options, if the price moves against you.

Straddles vs Strangles

In contrast to a straddle, a long strangle involves buying both calls and puts but with different strike prices.

Strangles are more common when investors believe a stock is more likely to move in one direction, but still want to hold some protection in case the opposite scenario occurs.

The advantage of a strangle is that the costs of putting them on are typically lower than straddles.

The Takeaway

An options straddle is essentially a two-trade bundle that’s designed to allow investors to wager whether there will be a major move in an asset’s price or not.

In a long straddle, investors have the potential to capture a significant profit while having paid only a relatively low cost for the options premiums. However, If the stock trades sideways or doesn’t post a big move, the investor will lose the money they invested in the premiums. In a short straddle, the opposite is true. If the underlying asset doesn’t post a big move, the investor can make money.

Investors who are ready to try their hand at options trading despite the risks involved, might consider checking out SoFi’s options trading platform offered through SoFi Securities, LLC. The platform’s user-friendly design allows investors to buy put and call options through the mobile app or web platform, and get important metrics like breakeven percentage, maximum profit/loss, and more with the click of a button.

Plus, SoFi offers educational resources — including a step-by-step in-app guide — to help you learn more about options trading. Trading options involves high-risk strategies, and should be undertaken by experienced investors. Currently, investors can not sell options on SoFi Active Invest®.

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