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Mark Cuban just told us something most financial gurus are too polite to say: your credit card is a wealth-destruction machine, and you can’t afford to feed it (1).
I spent years on the board of a local Consumer Credit Counseling Service, watching good people get buried by exactly this. And as a CPA since 1981, I can tell you the math behind Cuban’s warning is brutal.
The average credit card now charges 22.15% interest (2). Americans are carrying a record $1.263 trillion in card balances — up $54 billion in a single year — and the share of borrowers falling seriously behind keeps climbing (3).
Households headed by someone 55 to 64 carry about $7,720 in card debt on average (1) — roughly $1,600 a year in interest alone, gone before it buys a thing.
For a retiree living on the average Social Security check of $2,071 a month (4), a balance at 22% isn’t an inconvenience. It’s a slow leak in a boat that’s already low in the water.
Cuban’s right that this is the enemy. But “stop using credit cards” isn’t a plan. Here are five moves that actually beat 22% interest — starting today.
1. Kill the interest before you kill the balance
Here’s the problem with willpower alone: at 22%, most of your monthly payment vanishes into interest before it touches what you actually owe. So the first job isn’t to pay more — it’s to stop the interest.
A 0% intro APR balance transfer card flips that — every dollar you pay goes toward the balance itself. FinanceBuzz’s editors rounded up cards offering 0% on balance transfers into 2027 with no annual fee.
With good credit, one quick application could buy you a year-plus of interest-free payoff. Compare the top no-interest cards.
2. Find the money that’s already leaking out of your budget
Before you send another dollar to the card, find the dollars you’re quietly losing every month. Most people are stunned by what turns up.
Apps like Rocket Money connect securely to your accounts and put every subscription on one screen — cancel the ones you don’t want in a few taps. It negotiates cable, internet, and phone bills and flags fee hikes before they hit. Members have saved over $880 million in canceled subscriptions to date. See all your subscriptions now.
3. Attack the highest rate first — the math isn’t close
Paying off a small balance feels good, but the math on which balance to kill first almost always favors chasing the highest rate.
Throw every spare dollar at that top-rate card while paying the minimum on the rest. When it’s gone, roll that whole payment to the next one. It’s not glamorous. It just works.
Quick gut-check — if your money advice is coming from random online influencers, you’re playing a dangerous game. I’ve been a CPA since 1981 and writing about money since before the internet existed. Sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter and get expert advice that’s been tested by time.
4. If you’re truly buried, get real help — don’t just tread water
Sometimes the hole is too deep to climb out with budgeting alone. If debt is the first thing on your mind when you wake up, you’re not alone — and if you’ve got $15,000 or more in unsecured debt, you have a real option.
One example: National Debt Relief is one of the most established debt-relief companies in the country — they’ve helped over 500,000 people and hold an A+ BBB rating.
Fill out a short form, a certified specialist reviews your situation, and if they can help, they build a plan with no upfront fee and no obligation. They handle most unsecured debt: credit cards, personal loans, even medical bills.
Just know settlement isn’t magic. It can take a bite out of your credit while it works, so treat it as the move when the other four aren’t enough — not the first stop.
5. Fix the habit, not just the balance
Here’s Cuban’s deeper point, and it’s the one that lasts: clearing the balance means nothing if the card fills back up by spring.
The card has to go cold while you dig out. Switch to a debit card or cash for daily spending, so you feel the money leave. Pay the statement in full every month once you’re clear. The goal isn’t to never own a credit card — it’s to never again rent money at 22%.
The bottom line
Cuban and I don’t agree on everything, but he’s dead right here: high-interest card debt is the single fastest way to turn a comfortable retirement into an anxious one. The good news is that it’s also one of the most fixable problems in all of personal finance — if you stop the interest, find the leaks, and attack it in the right order.
Don’t let a piece of plastic decide how your retirement feels. Because you can either look rich or be rich, but you probably won’t live long enough to do both. Start today, and give the being-rich version a real shot.
Sources: TheStreet (1); Federal Reserve (2); Federal Reserve Bank of New York (3); Social Security Administration (4).
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