Credit card debt. It’s the kind of debt that affects a large majority of homes within the United States. So much in fact that according to many published statistics, the average American household owes over $15,000 in credit card debt, which over time can affect your credit. And when your credits affected, it can make it hard to make major purchases. And that can make it hard to live as comfortably as you would like.
If you happen to have credit issues, luckily, there are several things that you can do in order to manage and organize your debt. If you’re interested in knowing some of the things that you can do to turn your situation around starting today, here are five proven tips to make you debt-free.
Check your credit report. If you’re reading this article, then there’s a pretty good chance that you are aware of the fact that you owe some money to your credit card company. However, if you’re curious to know just how much, you should first contact them and then you should get a copy of your credit report from the three main credit reporting agencies (Experian, Expedia and TransUnion). The reason why looking at your credit report is so important is because that is how you can see if your credit debt has affected your credit score. (For tips on how to raise your credit score, visit Forbes and put “11 ways to raise your credit score fast” in the search field.)
Pay more than the minimum balance. One of the main reasons why a lot of people find themselves in credit card trouble is because while credit cards are easy to use, they are loans that come with interest. So, if you don’t make a point to pay off your balance in full that can result in you paying a significant amount of interest; interest that can really add up over time. That’s why it’s important to pay more than your minimum balance each month. It’s a quicker way to get your balance down to zero.
Use cash (or your debit card) more often. Again, being that a credit card is a loan in the form of a little plastic card – while you’re in the process of resolving your debt – make sure to use cash or even your debit card more often. That way, you’re spending the money that you actually have – not the credit that you’ll have to pay back.
Set a budget. If you were to go to a website like CreditCardSolution.org in order to get information on how to better manage your credit card debt, one of the things that it would probably tell you to do is to set a firm budget. It should include how much you need for all of your monthly expenses. It also should include how much money you plan to put towards your credit card debt as well. For tips on how to create a budget, visit FinancialPlan.About.com and put “how to create a budget” in the search field.
Establish boundaries for future credit card usage. A wise man once said that if you want to get what you’ve always had, you should do what you’ve always done. So, if you want to stop owing your credit card companies, it’s a good idea to establish some solid credit card boundaries. For instance, consider only using your credit card in order to book reservations or in the case of an emergency. Just by implementing that one rule alone, you should start to see a significant change when it comes to your credit bills, your credit debt and ultimately, your credit score. Good luck!
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