You have either hear from a friend that credit cards are the best things to have, and you have also heard from a friend that credit cards are the devil! In between those two conversations you’ll find the real card game.
Like most teenagers during my first college year, I was offered to sign up for my first credit card. I sign up for a Visa card, and had no idea what an interest rate was, nor did I care at the time. I was just super happy that I had the money available to spend. I felt super confident that I was able to get a credit card all by myself. It was a great feeling, and it was also the start of my credit card debt.
I fell into this trap twice. The first time I was young and had no money to pay my high-interest balance. I end up getting a job that helped people with consolidating credit card debt and honestly nothing positive came out of that. I will explain to you some of the things that did work for me as I manage to get out of debt. For starters never give your money to companies that promise to consolidate your debt, because in the long run you are paying a fee to keep those facilities in business and you are still in debt. You are better off on taking full control of your liability all alone. I did it and so can you!
Rule number one, if you don’t recognize the name of the credit card facility, such as Chase, Citi card, US Bank, don’t apply for one.
A few reminders, credit cards are not bad for you. However; if you don’t have the discipline to control your spending ability, a credit card will not be a good thing for you. As I repeat myself all the time, you have to change your mindset, have the discipline, and understand your limitations before you borrow money from any of the financial institutions.
Benefits of having credit cards:
You can start building your credit.
They are good to have for emergency
If you want to build your credit and know you make enough income to pay your full balance every month, you can begin applying for “0” percent credit cards with cash back or cash points. The benefits of these cards are that you can accumulate points for money and use that cash as a way to also pay your balance.
How to eliminate high credit card balance debt?
Back to the beginning of my story. How did I managed to get out of debt? It is a long process, and you have to commit to put the time, and target every card with a high balance. Just remember that if you don’t make an effort to target your debt, you will not find a way to get out of this big empty hold.
Steps to follow:
Target the highest balance with the highest interest rate first.
Call your credit card company and try to negotiate your interest rate to a lower rate. Credit card companies don’t want you to default on your cards, so they are willing to work with you.
If you have the credit to apply for a 0% on balance transfer, you can transfer your balance from the highest % card and work on that balance at a 0% rate.
Pay more than the minimum. Double your payment.
Once you paid off your full balance, apply for a no annual fee credit card and cut the previous card and put this one away for emergency only!!!
Remember you have the power to change your habits. Email me for more questions or write your comment below.