Credit card debt » Highest Interest Rate

Eliminating Your Credit Card Debt

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 02:33:06 +0000

Getting rid of your credit card debt can be done, but it requires some planning and patience from you. Once you figure out a plan of action, the most important thing to remember is to follow through with it.

You will find that the reward is going to be well worth it. Besides, doesn’t saving money sound like a good benefit?

The choice is yours, but it’s usually best to start with the card that carries the highest interest rate. For some, they decide to just pay off the card with the smallest balance first.

The most important thing to remember is that you need to figure out how you will exactly eliminate your debt before you start. Then remember, stick to the plan.

First thing’s first, you are going to have to create a budget. This will help you to evaluate your monthly income and your expenses.

By really focusing on your spending you can look at your habits. There will be expenses you don’t really think about (fancy coffees, dinners out, hand car washes, etc.) that really can add up. It’s time to get strict about where your money is going, because right now it needs to go towards paying off your debt.

Now is the time to stop using your credit cards. There is no possible way you can eliminate your credit card debt if you are still in the process of making transactions. The outstanding balance will not go anywhere if you are still adding to it.

You have probably heard it before, but it is time to practice this. It’s very important that you pay your credit card bills on time and really try to pay more than the minimum required. At least towards the accounts that you are trying to knock out first, go over the minimum due.

Companies count on you only paying the minimum due monthly and they love that, because that is how they are making their money off of you. Stop giving them what they want and start helping yourself to get out of debt.

If you are focusing on paying off the accounts one by one, then don’t forget to pay at least the minimum on your other bills. Go down your list and keep up the momentum. As you pay off one, focus on the next and don’t stop until you are out of debt. This might seem like a long list of things to accomplish but you can do it.

Have you thought about contacting your creditors? Sometimes they will be willing to work with you and give you a lower interest rate. There will be some companies who will tell you no, but you never know if you are dealing with one that might say yes!

If you don’t feel comfortable dealing with the creditors on your own, there are debt consolidation and debt settlement companies that can negotiate on your behalf. The quotes are free to you online and it might be beneficial to you, to have a company try and get the interest rates lowered.

Finally, one last tip to consider is that if you are planning on closing your accounts; do not close them until you have paid them in full. There are some credit card companies that will give you a higher interest rate if you close an account that is not paid off. That is the last thing you want to do, pay higher interest!

Just remember to devise that plan, the one that is going to get you out of debt. Keep dreaming about financial freedom and how wonderful it will feel once you are there. The quicker you get started the quicker you will make those dreams a reality.

By: Christina Costa

Credit Card Debt Elimination

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:23:29 +0000

Credit card debt elimination can be done with a good plan and a little patience.
The important thing is to find what works best for you and stick to your plan. The rewards are well worth it and you’ll save yourself a lot of money in the process.

You can choose to either start paying off the credit card with the highest interest rate first or you can get rid of the credit cards with the smallest balance first. The important thing is to know exactly how you are going to approach your credit card debt elimination before you begin.

First, set a realistic budget for yourself to lower your spending in all areas and stick to it. Living by your budget will help you pool your available cash for your credit card debt elimination plan.

The most important you must do immediately is eliminate your credit card spending. You can never succeed with credit card debt elimination if you continue to add to the outstanding balance. The interest on that debt added with a climbing balance will make credit card debt elimination impossible.

It’s important to pay your credit card bills on time and always pay more than the minimum payment on the bills you want paid off first. Paying the minimum payment doesn’t eliminate that high credit card interest rate. That’s exactly what the credit card companies want because they are making a killing off of that interest.

If you are concentrating your bill paying efforts on one bill at a time, then you should still pay at least the minimum on the others. Once each bill is paid redirect your resources to the next bill so your credit card debt elimination can become a reality.

A tip that some have been successful with is contacting creditors to ask for a lower interest rate. Even if most creditors say no what if some of them say yes? The interest savings to you will multiply your credit card debt elimination efforts and save you money. It’s worth a few phone calls and your time to try this.

One last tip is, if you choose to close your credit card accounts, do not close them until after the bill has been paid. Some credit card companies often will penalize you by raising interest rates if you close an account that carries an outstanding balance.

The most important thing to remember is to begin your plan right now. Think of how you will feel when you are finally free of high credit card interest. The sooner you start, the sooner your ultimate goal of credit card debt elimination can be accomplished.

By: Gary Gresham

Is Transferring Credit Card Debt Wise?

admin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 08:50:06 +0000

You will see a large number of credit cards that offer you the opportunity of transferring an outstanding debt from other cards usually for zero interest although they all charge a transfer fee of between 2% & 3%, this is a well known means of attempting to offset bills in a lots more organized fashion. However never think it is the total solution, the amount you transfer across MUST be cleared within the zero rate periods; otherwise it will incur high interest rates and compound your problem. When considering this course of action divide the amount you wish to transfer by the number of months of the zero rate can you afford this amount plus your regular spend on the credit card?

People who end up in credit card debt frequently defaults in their payment of credit card bills and end up chewing far more than they can swallow. Sometimes failing to clear the debt by even a small amount can build to a large debt over a period of time.

Before going on with this piece, I think it’s essential to ask you – have you read the first part of this article with an open mind and an attentive attitude? What one gains from reading an insightful article is largely dependent on his/her desire and commitment to get the meat out of what he/she is reading. Keep reading with an open mind as well as an attentive attitude and I’m certain it will all become very clear, about “Credit Cards”.

Credit card rates in addition to charges can be effectively compared against each other on the Internet before a definite choice is made.

If you are considering transferring a debt from one card to another to take advantage of zero or reduced interest rates, you should target the credit card firm that charges the highest interest rate on your debt and get rid of first before paying attention to the rest of your debts.

If you are a person who loves shopping at a particular retail outlet, seek if the outlet supplies credit cards is an excellent way of getting a credit card suited to your needs.

Quite a new innovation is the prepaid credit card. The new cash plus Gold card is a Master Card prepaid card. This means that like a pay as you go phone, you need to put money on to the account before you can use it. It is not a debit card that is linked to a bank account or credit card where you pay for your transactions at a later date. It’s a pay as you go Master Card Pre-Paid Card. You just top it up – it’s easy!With a cash plus card you top-up what you want to spend and manage your money in a hassle-free way. And it’s safer than carrying cash.

By: David Dutch

Credit Card Debt Reduction Tips

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:17:06 +0000

If you’re burdened by credit card debt, you’re not alone. Whether you owe hundreds or even thousands, its hard to rest easy when you know you owe money. Credit cards are convenient, that much can’t be argued. You don’t necessarily have to swear them off forever even if you do owe a sizable amount on them. But no one wants to walk around carrying a ton of credit card debt. Here’s what you can do to get it all under control again:

Make a list of all the credit cards you possess, how much you owe on each, and their respective interest rates. Organize your list from highest interest rate down to the lowest. The higher interest rate cards are top priority.

Find out the minimum payment on each credit card. Maybe you can’t afford o pay off all your high-interest debt at once. That’s okay-figure out how much over the minimum you can afford each month. Start with the first card on your list, the one you are paying the highest fees on. Then move on to the second card. While you work to pay off the big offenders on the top of your list by paying as much as possible over the minimum, continue to make minimum payments each month on the lower-rate cards.

As you pay off your debt, you can still use your low-rate cards. But don’t use any credit cards to pay for things you already have money for. For example, use the cash in your wallet when you run out to pick up a few groceries, and use your credit card on a utility bill instead. Then, send the money for the electric payment to your credit card company ASAP.

By following these credit card tips, you can get back to less stressful, debt-free life sooner than you might think. You’ll also learn to avoid accumulating any more huge debts in the future. Too many people die in deep debt, leaving it behind for their family to struggle against. Don’t let your debt get that out-of-hand.

By: Brent Crouch

How to Eliminate Credit Card Debt

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:19:35 +0000

Each year more and more people find themselves drowning in a pool of credit card debt. While it is comforting to some degree to be able to take solace in the fact that you’re not alone, most people would also prefer being able to eliminate the credit card debt all together. While it can seem almost impossible to pay down credit card debt once you have attained it, the good news is that there are in fact ways to make it quite possible to pay off your credit card debt and enjoy the freedom it affords you.

First, it is important to understand that you absolutely must have a plan for paying off your credit card debt. Worrying about it won’t help you get out of debt any faster. You must put pen to paper and develop a plan for paying it off. The first step you must take in developing such a plan is by analyzing your existing budget to determine where you can use additional money to pay down the debt. Look at luxury cost areas that you can cut out and use those funds to pay on your credit card. Consider options like packing your lunch at home instead of eating out, cutting down on the number of coffees you purchase each week, etc. Once you start thinking about it, you may be surprised at the amount of money you can come up with to put toward your credit card debt.

Second, it is extremely important to understand that you will never get out of debt by paying only the monthly minimum. At that rate, you’ll be lucky if you have it paid off by the time you retire. You must take aggressive action and start at least doubling your payments in order to make a dent in your debt.

If you have more than one credit card, take a look at which cards have the highest interest rates. The card or cards with the highest interest rates should receive your first attention. In the event that you can’t afford to pay more than the minimum amount on all of your cards, focus on the card(s) with the highest interest rate first. When those are paid off you can then take that money and apply it to the other cards. Slowly, but surely you will pay them off.

It can also be helpful to look at the ways in which you can reduce the interest rates on your cards. One way to do this would be to simply call up your credit card companies and request a lower rate. Of course, they don’t have to grant the lower rate to you but if you point out that you’ll take your business elsewhere if they don’t, they might quickly change their tune. Transferring balances to a lower interest rate card can also be helpful as long as you close the original account so you are not tempted to run it back up again.

By following these strategies and remaining dedicated to paying off your credit cards, you’ll have the debt eliminated before you know it. Just remember that while it may seem as though it is taking forever and you may be tempted to quit, following these strategies will help you eliminate your debt far sooner than just letting things go as they are.

By: Joseph Kenny

Get Out of Credit Card Debt Legally

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:40:28 +0000

Before looking for help elsewhere, there are steps that you yourself can take while trying to get out of credit card debt legally.

Asses your debts To get out of credit card debt legally, be sure to know what exactly it is you owe and to whom. Not knowing what you are paying for could be exactly what got you into debt in the first place. Spend only what you can afford Read that carefully. It doesn’t say “Spend only within your paycheck”. At this point, parts of your paycheck will be going to rent, various bills and other essentials on top of your debt payments. The remaining amount is what you can afford. Try to pay more than minimum amount There is always a minimum amount of payment that credit card companies let you make. You need to remember that the remaining amount of debt you owe is always charged the interest rate. This means if you pay the minimum amount, there will be more of your debt left for the companies to make money out of. Remember too, the smaller the bites you take, the longer it takes you to finish the cake. So always try to pay more than the minimum amount. Choose one with the highest interest rate If you have more than one plastic, find out which of them has the highest interest rate. Try and pay off the debt that you have on that card first, because it is the one that is compounding more than the others. In other words, it is the one that’s growing at a faster rate.

By: Steven Drumand

Credit Card Debt – Interest Rates May Double Or Triple!

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:52:20 +0000

There are few of us that do not have credit problems at some time in our lives. Temporary job loss, and accident or illness – anything that disrupts our ability to earn a living or to keep to our budgets can cause havoc on our credit reports. If the problem is a temporary one, it’s common for people to juggle the bills, pay what they can and assume that as soon as they catch up everything will be normal.

Did you know your credit card interest can go as high as 36%? In 1978 the Supreme Court decided that interest rates could be based on the rates allowed by the state where the credit card company did business. Prior to that, banks issuing credit cards could charge no more than the usury rate (the highest interest rate allowed) for the state were the customer resided. The was a sweeping change – and is the reason so many credit issuing banks are located in states such as Delaware and South Dakota where high interest rates are allowed.

The huge problem for you is that one late payment on one credit card can result in all of your credit cards having the interest rate raised to more than 30%. There was a time when you could call your creditor and have a late payment approved but the sheer size of the credit industry now doesn’t allow for personal consideration.

You might think you are protected because you’ve had the same credit cards for years and have faithfully paid month after month. You would be wrong. Initially, credit card companies were not quick to raise rates on good customers and if you were late on a couple payments you might see an increase of 2-3% in the interest on your credit cards.

For years, banks and credit card institutions focused on giving customers as much credit (and sometimes more) as they could handle. The monthly payment on these revolving accounts was only 2-2.5% of the balance plus the monthly interest. In 2005, Federal Regulators called on these corporations to raise the payment to 4% of the balance plus the interest rate. This caused monthly payments to be higher for consumers. Shortly after that, the financial corporations began the current practice of changing the interest rate of a customer to the highest allowable rate (30-36%) immediately after any sign of financial weakness in the customer’s credit.

In reality, the result is that $10,000 on credit cards at 9% in 2004 required a payment of approximately $285 a month. That same $10,000 of credit card debt can now require as much as $675 as the monthly payment. Such an increase is more than many budgets can handle, and the predictable result has been an increase in bankruptcy filings directly due to credit card debt.

Protect yourself out there,

Trace Morgan

By: Trace Morgan

Managing Credit Card Debt

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:59:05 +0000

Personally, I consider credit cards one of the necessary evils for living in the modern world. We all need a credit card. You’d have a hard time making a purchase online without one of those little magic pieces of plastic. Credit cards make life easier – maybe too easy. Paying with a credit card is easy – maybe too easy.

It is very, very easy for credit card debt to get out of hand. It’s easy to get into debt way over your head by simply using credit cards for everyday living expenses. The first step in effectively managing credit card debt is to accept the fact that it is DEBT, and you do owe the money. If you don’t want to pay interest, fees, and penalties, either don’t use the card or pay the balance at the end of every month.

Credit cards, when they are used responsibly, can be good things. They can even save you money if you use them right. They can even make a profit for you! I have one card right now that PAYS ME $25.00 every couple of months to use it and the credit card company has never made one cent in interest, fees, or penalties from me. My secret? I don’t have one. I simply pay the card in full BEFORE the due date and accept the reward that they give me for using the card for my convenience. It’s a terrific arrangement.

To get into that position though, it takes some serious self-discipline. You have to learn to pay for everyday expenses with cash or personal checks and not with credit cards. In order to reduce credit card debt, you need to pay MORE than the minimum payment. The way to do this is to choose one card (the one with the highest interest rate) and concentrate on paying that card off while making minimum payments on other cards. You can get out from under credit card debt. Go for it!

By: Milos Pesic

Excessive Credit Card Debt Solutions

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 07:44:23 +0000

Of all the things you can do to resolve your excessive credit card debt, the first thing to do is to stop creating more. I’ve seen more than one person get out of debt briefly, only to fall back into it. Start changing those habits. Regardless of how quickly you change your habits, though, if you have the debt, you want to knock it down. Here are some suggestions.

Excessive Credit Card Debt Can Be Discounted

You may be able to settle debts for a discount. When I collected debts for a living, we often took 50% as payment in full, when we thought it was the best we could do. The point is that if you really can’t handle your payments, you may be better off to borrow from family to settle your debts for 20% to 60% of face value. Credit card companies sometimes take 50% or less as payment in full if they are convinced you are headed towards bankruptcy. (Note: this is still possible, but more difficult now with the new bankruptcy laws.)

Send a nice letter explaining your situation, and how you will get the money for the pay-off. Tell them you’ll most likely be filing for bankruptcy, but would like to settle up with any willing creditors before that happens. That let’s them know they may be left with nothing if they say no, and you split your remaining assets between other creditors.

How To Pay Debt Most Efficiently

When trying to dig your way out of debt, always pay high-interest cards first. If, for example, you have $200 budgeted to apply to your cards each month, pay the minimums only on all others, then put the rest of the money towards the card with the highest interest rate. When that one is paid off, work on the next highest.

This powerful technique saves a lot on interest charges. Suppose you have three cards. You would pay the minimum of (let’s assume) $40 on two of them, and apply the other $120 to the highest interest card. When that card is paid off, you continue to put $40 towards one card, and now apply $160 to whichever of the two remaining is the higher interest credit card. It is the fastest way to pay down credit card debt.

Excessive Credit Card Debt – Other Tips

Never buy the credit card insurance. This insurance typically stops your payments when you are injured or unemployed. It’s one of the most over-priced insurances out there, and doesn’t eliminate the debt, but just delays it.

Never buy credit card security insurance. This insurance pays for unauthorized charges when your card is stolen. Since you are only liable for the first $50 if you report the theft in any case, and many cards already have 0 liability, this isn’t needed.

Be careful with consolidation loans. Never consolidate debt into a home refinance unless you have a definite plan for paying the loan off early. 10% isn’t cheaper than 18% when it is for 30 years instead of 5.

If you’ve tried some of these techniques without success, and just can’t seem to do it on your own, consider contacting a credit-counseling service. Sometimes they can help you negotiate lower rates with your banks, and otherwise counsel you on how to reduce your excessive credit card debt.

By: Steven Gillman