Many people that get themselves into credit card debt do not realize that they can be negotiating credit card debt for themselves without relying on a credit management company. When you are negotiating credit card debt you just have to remember that there are two sides to every story. Yes it is difficult for you to pay right now but the credit card company just wants their money so when you are negotiating credit card debt remember that you are trying to find a place to meet the credit card company halfway. One of the things that help you in negotiating credit card debt is to know what can be negotiated and what is not open for negotiation. If you go into it wanting to negotiate your principle down, which the money you spent that you actually owe them, then you can cut up that credit card and say goodbye to your credit rating. Principles owed are not open for talks when you are negotiating credit card debt however interest owed and interest rates are open. The credit card company may not like it and they may cancel your card but at least you are paying your principle and that counts for a lot.
If you look at your credit card bill you will see that your interest rate is listed on there in a spot that is easy to find. If your rate is over 10% then you have something you can use for negotiating credit card debt. Many store cards and low limit credit cards have rates that are over 20% and they usually go up every year. These are arbitrary numbers set by the credit card company and you can use them when you are negotiating credit card debt. As long as you always pay your principle you are fine. I had a friend that would call his credit card companies once a year and tell them that if they didn't lower their interest rates he was paying the card off in full and canceling it. More often than not the rates got lowered. This also affects your monthly payment and can help you control your monthly debt.
Make Money Today
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
An Effective Way To Wipe Out Credit Card Debt
Any effective way to wipe out credit card debt is going to begin with the same type of advice. Stop using your credit cards. If you are serious about wanting to wipe out credit card debt, and you can stop using your cards, then you can continue. What you do with your cards once you wipe out credit card debt is up to you. If you want to start using them again and do this cleansing exercise every couple of years then that is your choice. Many people do that and as long as you are not getting yourself in over your head then you should be able to repeat this cycle of running up credit card debt only to wipe out credit card debt indefinitely. If you have that kind of self control then personal finances will be easy for you. But there is a practical and effective way to wipe out credit card debt and it begins with putting the cards away.
The next thing you need to do is bring all of your debt together under one loan or other means of consolidation. You can use consolidation loans or you can wipe out credit card debt by using offers from a new credit card to consolidate your debt under the new card. If you use the new card method then just be warned that you are probably setting yourself up for even more credit card debt. You may want to find other ways of consolidation and then use cash for everything else you will be needing for the foreseeable future. Cash is your friend when you are trying to wipe out credit card debt and the more you can use it the better off you will truly be in the end.
Once you have consolidate your debt then next thing you want to do is dedicate a portion of your monthly budget to paying that consolidation off and that portion of your monthly budget should be more than the minimum consolidation payment. You may need to give up some things in the meantime, like that extra phone number or internet access for your cell phone. Do whatever you can to get extra money coming in and then apply that extra money to paying the consolidation off. It may mean a few less dinners out each month but you need to pay that consolidation off so apply all extra money to the consolidation.
Once you get all of that under control you just keep using cash while you are paying the consolidation off and you should be able to pay it off in a reasonable amount of time depending on how deep in debt you are.
The next thing you need to do is bring all of your debt together under one loan or other means of consolidation. You can use consolidation loans or you can wipe out credit card debt by using offers from a new credit card to consolidate your debt under the new card. If you use the new card method then just be warned that you are probably setting yourself up for even more credit card debt. You may want to find other ways of consolidation and then use cash for everything else you will be needing for the foreseeable future. Cash is your friend when you are trying to wipe out credit card debt and the more you can use it the better off you will truly be in the end.
Once you have consolidate your debt then next thing you want to do is dedicate a portion of your monthly budget to paying that consolidation off and that portion of your monthly budget should be more than the minimum consolidation payment. You may need to give up some things in the meantime, like that extra phone number or internet access for your cell phone. Do whatever you can to get extra money coming in and then apply that extra money to paying the consolidation off. It may mean a few less dinners out each month but you need to pay that consolidation off so apply all extra money to the consolidation.
Once you get all of that under control you just keep using cash while you are paying the consolidation off and you should be able to pay it off in a reasonable amount of time depending on how deep in debt you are.
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