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Credit card debt is a dangerous epidemic. Did you
know the average American family has more than $8000.00 in credit card debt?
Credit card debt is a rapidly growing problem as Credit card companies make it
easier and easier for consumers to obtain cards and spend money. Creditors
offer enticing interest rates to join or to transfer balances from an existing
creditor or credit card. Credit card companies earn in excess of $65 billion a
year and nearly one third comes from late fees and over the limit charges. Do
you think these creditors have any incentive to help you reduce credit card
debt? Why would any creditor want to offer you credit
card debt help? Remember, if you are not paying an interest rate or
late fees, a creditor is not earning money from you. A creditor or bank earns
fees by loaning people money and charging them at a high interest rate.
When you transfer credit card debt from one
creditor to another, you should cancel the first card. If not, you may run up
that balance as well. Resist the temptation to purchase everyday items like gas
or lunch with your credit cards as this can lead to serious
credit card debt problems, particularly when you have a very high
interest rate. If you make only the minimum payments each month, you are mainly
paying interest only and little or no money is be applied toward your principal
to eliminate credit card debt. If this sounds familiar, you need
credit card debt help.
There are some things you can do on your own to manage your
credit card debt. For example, there is software that tracks your
financial records such as Quicken, by Intuit, or Microsoft's Managing Your
Money. These programs provide credit card debt help
by organizing your bills and even writing checks. Also, if you have a financial
hardship, contact each creditor and tell them you need your interest rate
lowered. This will not reduce your credit card debt but it will lower your
monthly payments. The extra savings could be used to eliminate credit card debt
from other creditors. You can also play one creditor off another. Tell one that
another offered you a better interest rate in an effort to help you reduce
credit card debt due to a financial hardship. Often, the second creditor will
beat the interest rate offered by the second creditor.
Another option you may want to explore is debt settlement. A debt settlement
company negotiates with a creditor on your behalf to eliminate credit card
debt. Many people fall behind on payments due to a hardship like divorce,
layoff, illness, or pay reduction. Credit card debt
help is possible, thanks to our debt settlement program. We can reduce credit
card debt by 40-60% by negotiating a settlement with your creditor. Unlike a
Credit Counseling program or just an interest rate reduction, we can reduce the
entire balance. If you need credit card debt help,
this is the quickest way to eliminate debt outside of filing bankruptcy.
We have a page on our site Debt Calculator where you can calculate how long it
will take you to pay off your credit card debt to
your creditor if you continue to make minimum payments at your current interest
rate. Did you know that you cannot ever reduce credit card debt if you are
paying the minimum and your interest rate is 24% or higher? It is physically
impossible. You cannot eliminate credit card debt if you are simply making
minimum payments, month after month to your creditor
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