Things We Can or Must Do Right Now With Credit Card Debt
Remember: Debt is Evil - especially credit card debt and if we have it treat it like a hot potato and get rid of it as fast as possible. Some of these action items may be very challenging for us but not impossible and others are musts.
Starting with the more challenging items first:
1) Don’t use the credit card. That’s right, either cut it up or put it in a secure place where it may be forgotten. Save for big purchases and use cash for everything.
2) Pay off the entire balance when due. Don’t carry a balance. Credit card companies got us by the you know what when we carry balances.
3) If we can’t do #2, then: Pay more than minimum monthly payment. The minimum monthly payment is a joke. This is one way that credit card companies hook people. Minimum monthly payments typically only cover finance charges (interest) for that month and very little to NOTHING of the minimum monthly payment goes to the remaining credit card balance. In some extreme cases, the minimum monthly payments don’t even cover all the finance charges and then there is a situation where “compound interest” is working against us because then we are paying “interest on interest”.
4) Make that payment ON TIME. Don’t mess around. Credit card companies are being less forgiving when it comes to late payments. Credit card companies have jacked up late payment fees and have not hesitated to increase the interest rate on the credit card based on just ONE late payment.
5) Join a local credit union that offers credit cards and open a credit card account with them. Credit union’s credit card fees tend to be much lower than big bank credit cards.
Good luck.
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