Do you wish you could put your credit card spending on ice so you would stop building new debt while you try to pay off existing debt? Well you can. Literally! Let’s take a look at the “freezer method” for helping you get out of credit card debt by cutting off your bad spending habits.

What is the “Freezer Method” to Get Out of Credit Card Debt?

The freezer method involves you making your credit cards inaccessible so it’s impossible to make impulse purchases that increase your debt, therefore forcing you to make more responsible buying decisions as you work on paying off existing debt. How? You fill a container with water, drop your card in, and put it in the freezer. Your credit card becomes trapped in ice. You still have it for emergencies, but you’re forced to let it thaw before you can use it. That means you won’t have it on-hand when you’re at a store.

How is the Freezer Method Supposed to Work?

The freezer method isn’t perfect. You might have your card information memorised anyway, so you could still make online purchases. It’s basically a method for those who can’t seem to control their credit card spending in any other way. Instead of going to the store and whipping out the credit card for that hot new outfit you have to take some time to think over the purchase. Is it really worth going home and thawing out the credit card for a few hours? Probably not.

When you charge fewer new purchases you put a halt to debt increases. While it doesn’t help you get out of existing debt, it does help you from compounding the problem. And when you aren’t charging more purchases (meaning higher payments just to reach your new minimum), that leaves you with more money to put towards your principal balance.

Alternatives to the Freezer Method

The freezer method is a fairly old concept. It might not be the best option for some newer cards (with chips for example). And there’s the issue of memorisation and online purchases that was mentioned earlier. Fortunately there are some alternatives that can do the same thing. Here are a few examples if you’re not comfortable literally putting your spending on ice:

1. Ask your credit card company to put a temporary freeze on your account so you can’t make new purchases using the card, online or off.
2. Lock them up and give the key to someone you trust. For example you might buy a lock box or safe, put all but one emergency card in there, and give one key to your spouse and mail another to a trusted relative further away (two or more is ideal in case one key becomes lost).
3. There is also always the option of closing the credit card account altogether. If you’re in serious financial trouble or simply have too many credit cards, this might be the right option. You still owe the full balance due and can still accumulate interest though, so once you cut off the spending, work hard to pay down the balance.

The freezer method won’t work for everyone, and not every consumer needs that kind of forced responsible spending. You might be able to just leave your cards at home and not have to go beyond that. But if you’re desperately seeking a way to stop your impulsive spending, putting your spending on ice might just help you out of a bad situation.