Print Article for : Credit Card Debt Consequences

Your Online Guide » Credit Cards » Types of Credit Cards

[C1203]Credit Card Debt Consequences

by Debby Banning, Deb

is not any thing easy to get out of. It sure is easy to get in to debt but you have to scrape and crawl your way out of bottomless black hole. Americans are saving less and charging more. We live in a world of, I want it and I want it right now. What ever happened to waiting or putting off pleasure? Credit card companies have made it too easy for us to live beyond our means. We cannot blame the credit card companies for all of our debt. We need to learn to tell ourselves "NO". We also need to learn to tell our children "NO" also. We need to learn self control and think about tomorrow and not what is going to make us happy today. I recently saw a commercial that Gary Coleman was in. It was for one of those "payday loan" places. I am not certain on the company so I do not want to bash the wrong one. Although, I would not promote any of them. I was watching the commercial and then I saw the small print come up on the screen and I have Tivo, so I hit the pause button. I nearly fell off of my sofa when I read that you can borrow $2500.00 at 99.25% interest. After making payments back to the company you will repay over $9000.00. What part of this sounds like a good idea? I guess desperate people call for desperate measures. Even if a family members’ life depended on me giving them $2500.00, I would sell my car before I would borrow money at nearly 100% interest. That is "highway robbery" at its’ best. I have managed to crawl out of credit card debt, it has took me almost 10 years to do so. I still have a student loan and car payment. You can read about my journey to pay off these debts and never go back in debt forever and ever amen at www.DebbyBanning.com . I hope that I can inspire someone to look at themselves and their behaviors and make a change. Take your credit cards out of your wallet and put them in the shredder. Not only will you save yourself money but your shoulder or back pocket will thank you when they feel lighter from carrying the weight around. Not just the weight from the credit cards but the weight from the burden that you carry from charging items that you probably do not "need" anyway.

If you have credit card debt, then don't just bury your head in the sand and hope it all takes care of itself. If you do this, the problem will only get worse. While it can be difficult to face your debts, the earlier that you do so, that you accept them and accept that you have to deal with them, the easier it will be for you.

There are certain basic steps you can take to cure your credit card debt and not all of them have to be painful or drastic.

The first thing you should do is take stop. Assess the situation as a whole. Look at your debts, how they are constituted and how much interest you are paying on them. Then look at any savings you have. If you do have savings, then perhaps it is time for you to use them. It makes little sense to be saving money and earning four per cent, while at the same time you are paying out twenty per cent on your debts. You should classify your debts according to priority with the debts baring the highest interest being the ones you aim to pay off first. If you have other debts such as on your utility bills, or mortgage arrears, then this is more serious and you should probably seek advice from a profession adviser or your local Citizen's Advice Bureau.

Target all of your energy and resources at clearing the debts with the highest interest first. Once you have done this, then direct your attention at your lower interest debts. Of course while you are concentrating on the highest rate loans, you will have to at least make the minimum payments on your other cards.

If you think that you will not be able to clear your debt in this way. Then consider taking out a secured debt consolidation loan. These are only available to home owners but offer a good way of clearing your debts. What you can do is take out a debt consolidation loan that will charge a significantly lower interest rate than what your credit cards charge. This means that a far higher proportion of your repayments will be going towards clearing the balance, rather than just contributing to the profits of the credit card company.

Credit card debt is becoming a bigger and bigger source of stress and as borrowing rates continue to rise, this problem will only grow. If you are concerned about your debts, seek advice from someone you trust and don't ignore the problem till it grows too big to handle.

Article Source : How To Make Pocket Cards

About Author

Both Debby Banning & Joseph Kenny are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Debby Banning has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Health and Arts. www.DebbyBanning.com. Debby Banning's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.

Joseph Kenny has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Debt Consolidation and Credit Cards. Joe Kenny writes for the Credit Card Guide, offering the latest , visit today for introductory. Joseph Kenny's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.