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How To Get Out of Credit Card Debt 101

Having problems with your debts? Starting up the year with stress because of the charges you’ve incurred last holiday season? Is there a way to get out of debt more easily? This article will discuss some tips on how you can get free from your debt problems effectively:

Transfer your high rate credit cards. If you can’t pay off your credit card balance in full by the end of the month, it’s a good idea to transfer them over to another credit card that has no interest. Also, if you have more than one credit card, check which one of your cards have the lowest rate of interest so you can transfer over your balances.

When transferring credit card balances, check if there are transfer fees or penalties. If you’re opening a new credit card, check how long the zero interest rate will last. Promo periods usually end by six months while other credit cards offer a longer time period of up to a year or even more. It’s important that you complete your repayment before the zero interest introductory offer expires.

Focus on paying off your credit card debts. Don’t be content with just paying the minimum of your credit card charges. Make it a point to pay off your balances in full as much as possible. Concentrate on paying your charges on your highest rate credit cards and work your way down to those with the lowest interest. This way, you can avoid paying for additional interest and penalty fees.

Put your credit cards at halt. It is advised to stop using your credit cards until you’ve finished paying off all your bills. Don’t give yourself a hard time paying off too many bills at one time. Don’t risk getting stuck in credit card debts just because you kept charging more expenses on your cards. Exercise discipline and avoid debt problems.

Check your credit limit. How much of your credit limit have you used in purchasing for the holidays? Remember, experts advise all credit card holders not to go beyond 40% to 50% of their allowable credit line. If you go beyond that, you risk getting stuck in debts and there is a possibility that your creditors will increase your rates because you’ll be considered as a high-risk borrower. To avoid such problems, make sure that you stay within below 40% of your credit.

Check your credit card statement. Do you take the time to study your credit card statement? If your credit card enables you to access your account online, take this opportunity to make sure that all charges on your credit are accurate.

Check if your payments are aptly recorded by your credit card issuer. If you have any disputes, call your credit card issuer immediately and clear up your concerns. If by any chance, you won’t be able to submit your payment on time, call your bank right away to explain your situation and ask for an adjustment. Most creditors won’t report your late payment if you can re-submit on the next 30 days.

How to Get Good Treats from Holidays’ Debt

Even without cash at hand, it is still easy for people not to ignore their needs and wants during the holidays. Just imagine the gifts they have to give to all of those loved ones and colleagues, the dinner parties they had to throw, the holiday vacation with the entire family, and a lot more fun and exciting holiday activities. All of these needed cash to pull through. And the best solution during these times is credit cards.

However, as much as it was easy to get these good things during the holidays, it was easy as well for people to get piled on with hefty credit card debt. When the rush and frenzy of the holiday shopping has died down and reality sets back in, people are left with the inescapable truth, that they have to pay what they owe in order to free themselves from heavy burdens of debt.

Paying back a credit card debt means monthly payments. What’s more is that not only people have to pay debt from one single card but a lot of different cards as well. Each person can have as many as eight different cards all at once, so chances are they have used each or most of it during the holidays. The result is bigger debt thus bigger money spent each month for repayments.

It’s a bitter reality when people have to prioritise payment of debt. Since they are unavoidable nonetheless, why not make something good out of it?

Increase credit score. Pay well and pay on time. People must not miss a due date until they’ve paid all of their debt. After doing this will pave their way in to an increased credit limit which is helpful for bigger loans in the future such as a house loan. They will also get a better shot at good jobs because good employers would want to hire financially responsible employees.

Get rewards. With each swipe, some of the best credit cards offer corresponding rewards to accumulated points. Some rewards go as luxurious as free international airfares, glitzy tech gadgets, generous shopping sprees and more.

Money that goes out for repayment is money lost. So what about savings and emergency funds? Guess they will have to take a backseat until all debts have been cleared or at least until people have paid enough to actually go back to their old routine of saving. As for now, people must take advantage of what credit card debt has good to offer.