Credit Card Madness
Posted at by ifydcat on category CreditAre you in default on your credit cards? If you said, yes, then you aren’t alone. It has been said over half the credit cards issued are in default. Many people have been in the credit card trap of not being able to keep up with the debt and have spent too much money on credit cards. There are many ways to get out of the debt of credit cards if you are tired of struggling.
One of your choices is debt consolidation. Debt consolidation is the method of taking out a loan for what you own on all your credit cards together. You pay off all your debt with the loan and that leaves you with one loan, usually a smaller payment, and normally a lower interest rate. Debt consolidation does work quite well, but like all methods of getting out of debt, a debt consolidation loan will get you into more trouble if you don’t change the spending habits that got you into debt in the first place.
Another choice is credit counseling. You go to a credit counseling business and setup a plan with them to pay off your debt. What happens is you give the credit counselor a list of your credit cards and how much you owe, they work out a deal with the credit cards to lower your interest rate and payments. You then send one payment to the credit counseling service and they divide up the payment to the credit cards. This is done until all the debt is paid off. A word of warning, don’t expect the credit counselor to keep up with everything for you. Take a look at your monthly statements from the credit cards to make sure everything is going smoothly until the debts are paid off.
One choice is to give yourself a budget and possibly a second job. Use the income from the second job to pay off the debt and stick to your budget. It will take time and patience but if you don’t like the other options then this would be the way to go. This method works great if you don’t have a lot of debt, for example under $10,000.00. If you have much more than you need to look at a better way.
One last way is to file bankrupt. Bankrupt will straighten your debt problem up and even get the creditors off you so you will not be called anymore. If you have a lot of debt this might be the best way to go. You will need to discuss this option with a bankruptcy lawyer. Beware bankruptcy will destroy your credit rating for several years.
One final word, before you do anything ask yourself how you got into this problem in the first place. You made this debt. Sometimes things like emergencies come up and you have to take on debt to correct things, that is understandable. Most of the time though, people end up in this situation because they don’t control their spending habits. Before you set your mind on a solution, learn how to control your spending. If you don’t change what got you into the credit card trap then you will be right back in the same situation in only a few short years.
Are you ready to stop the cycle of debt and credit card abuse? Learn more about debt consolidation and debt consolidation.
