{"id":1546,"date":"2025-07-23T21:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T21:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/23\/debt-happens-learn-from-this-bankrate-experts-experience\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T21:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T21:52:10","slug":"debt-happens-learn-from-this-bankrate-experts-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/23\/debt-happens-learn-from-this-bankrate-experts-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Debt happens. Learn from this Bankrate expert’s experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ben\u00e9t Wilson lost her previous job unexpectedly last May.<\/p>\n

Wilson, my colleague and a lead credit cards writer for Bankrate, said she wasn\u2019t too worried about her financial situation at first. She had two months\u2019 worth of expenses in savings, and the program provided some compensation \u201cfor the inconvenience.\u201d So she decided to take the summer to travel and map out her next steps, carrying on with a degree of normalcy.<\/p>\n

And then an issue with her car brakes popped up. Then, medical expenses happened. It didn\u2019t take long for Wilson to exhaust her emergency savings and then some, ending up with some new credit card debt.<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s situation isn\u2019t uncommon, and it wasn\u2019t the first time she\u2019d faced credit card debt. If it can happen to a professional credit card writer and expert, it can obviously happen to anyone. More than 1 in 10 consumers (12 percent) use their primary credit cards for emergency expenses, according to a recent PYMNTS report. Considering the high interest rates on credit cards, such a solution can easily result in expensive debt.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re facing an emergency, using a credit card in your wallet as a lifeline might be tempting. But there\u2019s likely a better option \u2014 here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

Using your credit card for emergencies<\/h2>\n

By August, Wilson was using her card not only for travel, but for everyday expenses and bills as well. This isn\u2019t an issue by itself. Indeed, most cardholders use their primary credit cards for everyday purchases (41 percent), as well as discretionary purchases (15 percent) and paying bills (12 percent), according to PYMNTS. But Wilson wasn\u2019t employed \u2014 and her card balance kept growing.<\/p>\n

At that point, she realized she had debt she needed to focus on.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, emergencies kept happening. By the time Wilson began working in October and got insurance in November, she\u2019d paid $800 to fix her car brakes and close to $4,000 for urgent care visits and tests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI miscalculated, because I thought that the money that I got\u2026 was going to last longer than it did,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Then, Wilson received money from a life insurance policy from her late father\u2019s estate. She used it to pay off her credit card debt and now has a healthy emergency fund with six months\u2019 worth of living expenses. But an influx of cash isn\u2019t something many people can count on, so they end up in debt for years.<\/p>\n

For instance, let\u2019s say you have $5,000 in credit card debt at a 20 percent APR, and your budget doesn\u2019t experience a cash infusion. If you pay $200 per month, it will take you 33 months to pay off the balance, and you\u2019ll pay $1,522 in interest.<\/p>\n

As you can see, this can be a rather expensive solution to an emergency. Luckily, you might have a better option.<\/p>\n

What you can do instead<\/h2>\n

If your credit is good enough, there\u2019s even a way using a credit card can still be a valid solution \u2014 you might just need to look beyond what\u2019s in your wallet currently.<\/p>\n

Consider a 0 percent APR credit card. This type of card offers a promotional period during which you aren\u2019t charged interest on purchases. Some credit cards on the market provide close to two years with zero interest.<\/p>\n

Of course, you\u2019ll still be putting yourself in debt even with a 0 percent APR card. But it will give you time and flexibility to pay down the balance without worrying about high APR charges. And even if you don\u2019t pay it all off by the time the intro period expires, you can still save a significant amount on interest.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s use the same example again: $5,000 in credit card debt. But this time, we\u2019ll say you got the Wells Fargo Reflect\u00ae Card<\/span> instead of charging the card you already have. With this card, you get a 0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening<\/span> on new purchases. After that, the card charges 17.24%, 23.74%, or 28.99% Variable APR<\/span>. If you pay $200 per month, you\u2019ll pay off the debt in 26 months (assuming you qualify for the card\u2019s lowest variable APR). You\u2019ll pay $30 in interest. That\u2019s $1,492 in savings.<\/p>\n

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Credit Card Transfer Icon<\/title> <\/svg> <\/p>\n
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Already carrying a balance? <\/p>\n

If you already put your expenses on your credit card, there\u2019s still a way to avoid paying interest. Look into balance transfer cards. This kind of 0 percent APR card also offers a promotional period \u2014 but in this case, zero interest applies to a balance transferred from a different card. Note that these cards often charge a balance transfer fee (typically 3 percent). <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Note that 0 percent APR cards usually require good to excellent credit.<\/p>\n

There are also ways to navigate unexpected expenses without using a credit card. Homeowners can pull money from their home equity at a low interest rate. People with good credit might qualify for a personal loan with advantageous terms. Even borrowing from friends and family can be an option. You could also look into a possible salary advance if your employer offers it.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be ashamed<\/h2>\n

Whatever has landed you with emergency expenses, Wilson recommends focusing on solutions rather than negative feelings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe in shaming anybody over debt, having been in it myself,\u201d she says. \u201cCome up with a concrete plan to get out. And it might take you a while, but it\u2019s better to kind of dig yourself out, rather than sit there and wallow, making things worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whichever solution you choose, it probably won\u2019t be perfect. The main thing is to stay proactive and committed to resolving the issue. After that, work on building up your emergency fund and aim to have at least three months\u2019 worth of expenses saved up. That way, next time something happens, you can use your savings account to handle it \u2014 and save your credit card for more exciting things, like earning rewards on your regular spending.<\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/h2>\n

When life hits you with a financial emergency, reaching for your trusted credit card can be almost instinctual. It seems like a quick way to resolve the situation, and you can deal with the consequences later.<\/p>\n

Sadly, with how high interest rates on credit cards are, these consequences can be costly. A single unexpected event can put you in expensive debt for years.<\/p>\n

Instead, consider signing up for a 0 percent APR credit card. With this type of card, you won\u2019t have to worry about interest accrual for the duration of the intro period. Focus on paying down the balance as quickly as you can \u2014 and once you\u2019re done, start building an emergency fund so that you never find yourself in the same situation again.<\/p>\n

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Ben\u00e9t Wilson lost her previous job unexpectedly last May. Wilson, my colleague and a lead credit cards writer for Bankrate, said she wasn\u2019t too worried about her financial situation at first. She had two months\u2019 worth of expenses in savings, and the program provided some compensation \u201cfor the inconvenience.\u201d So she decided to take the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens.jpg",1280,720,false],"morenews-featured":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"morenews-large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens-590x410.jpg",590,410,true],"crawlomatic_preview_image":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1546-credit-card-debt-happens-260x146.jpg",260,146,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"henry","author_link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/author\/henry\/"},"category_info":"Latest News<\/a>","tag_info":"Latest News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}