Credit card debt

Traditionally a credit card was meant as a way to be able to stretch that little bit further to make a big purchase and then pay it off as the money came in. What innocent times those were? Now living in debt because of credit cards is the normal situation rather than an anomaly. Young teenagers are able to get a credit card before they are ever old enough to figure out how money works and what being in debt means. Each generation is being carefully trained that debt is okay and normal.

That’s fine for everyone else, but do you want to spend the rest of your life in debt? Credit Card debt is one of the worst kinds of debt there is, because if it remains unpaid it stacks up the largest interest rates each month. It’s very important that you don’t allow these debts to accumulate many times their purchase value by not paying them off. In this article we look at how to get rid of your credit card debt.

Do You Have Savings You Can Use?

Savings are often overlooked as a means of debt relief. After all they are your savings for the future, your retirement or a holiday. But approach this logically. If you have a credit card accruing interest at 10-15-20% your debt is going to increase much faster that the 2% you are getting on your savings account. Take the money from the savings and pay the debt. It just makes sense. It’s also a way of taking a bit of a hit due to your debt. Nobody likes to see their savings going down!

Do You Have Anything You Can Sell?

This is another way of taking a personal hit to pay off your debts. Do you have anything that you can get a few dollars for to pay off that credit card debt? Credit card money is like play money to a lot of us, so actually losing an item is a way of both clearing the debt and associating negative thoughts with the use of a card. Save your credit card for big purchases and use your own money for the smaller ones.

A Loan

Worse case scenario – you have no money of your own that can be used to clear the debt, you have nothing to sell to cover the debt – you are going to need to borrow money. Many people feel bad about doing this, and it always makes me shake my head. Hypocrites! Credit Card Debt IS borrowed money. There is no more shame in asking a family member, an employer, a friend or even the bank for a loan to cover your debt than there is in accumulating your debt in the first place. Just do it smarter this time and negotiate good terms.

There is one important thing to remember however you choose to pay off your debt – and that is that you need to avoid the high credit card interest rates. Do whatever you can NOT to pay them, but make sure the solution you come up with isn’t worse than the problem itself.

By: Tom Scott

Tags: Anomaly, Credit Card Debt, Credit Cards, Credit Debt, Debt Credit, Debt Relief, Debts, Innocent Times, Interest Rates, Little Bit, Negative Thoughts, Paying Off Credit Card Debt, Play Money, Rest Of Your Life, Retirement, Stacks, Teenagers, Worse Case Scenario