I Need Help with Credit Card Debt!
Contributed by Melanie Vannuys
I Need Help With Credit Card Debt!
If used properly, credit CAN be a powerful tool, used improperly and it will bury you alive - this article is meant to bring you the help you need with your credit cards.
There is $1.7 trillion in total consumer debt today. According to the credit industry standards, 78% of Americans are deemed "creditworthy" and bombarded with credit offers on a daily basis. Furthermore, the average American is currently $8,562 in debt. Are you one of these people? If all of those figures aren't enough to scare you - perhaps this one will - 1.3 MILLION credit card holders declared bankruptcy last year alone!
If you truly want to help your credit card situation, then you have to be ready to make some life altering decisions. You have to be ready to completely change the way you look at money, credit and the combination. Beating debt is really a simple thing to do, but it's not going to be easy.
How Can I Help Myself Out Of Credit Card Debt?
As stated, beating debt is a simple idea - but not an easy one to put into play. While you won't need to be a Rhodes Scholar to accomplish it, one moment of weakness or a cruel act of fate will put you over the financial edge. Beating debt takes scads of willpower over a long period of time - the rest of your life to be exact.
Even if you have never been late paying your bills, if you continuously spend more than you make, your financial well-being will be in ruins. In fact, although bankruptcy is a way to wipe out most of your debts, if you don't change your spending habits, bankruptcy will only be a temporary solution.
Unpaid credit card debt is the worse kind of debt. The first step you need to take is to come up with a plan to pay off your credit cards. Once the debt is paid in full, only keep one or two credit cards per month. They should be the ones with the lowest interest rates and credit limits so you can pay them in full at the end of each month.
What Steps Can I Take To Help Pay Down My Credit Cards?
You, too, can join the millions of consumers who have paid off their credit card debt. However, you must know that simply paying the minimum payments on your credit cards isn't going to help you one bit. Here are six steps to help you whittle down that credit card debt once and for all.
1) Stop using your cards! Take all of your credit cards (except one low interest card for emergencies) out of your wallet or purse. They can be too tempting if left in there.
