Things You Might Not Know About Credit Cards & Debt Relief
A Legal Thief ?
When you get your monthly credit card statement, do you ever look to see what the interest rate is that they are charging you? I received a statement one time and noticed that the interest rate had changed, they raised it to 24.9%. I had no reason why they had raised it to such a high percentage. I wasn't late on my payments and I didn't go over the limit. I called them up and told them to put my interest rate back. On the next month's statement it showed my intereset rate back to where it was. I was still charged for the 24.9% interest that month.
Here you have a credit card company that can get away with jacking your interest rate up at will, takes money out of your pocket and there's nothing you can do about it. Imagine how many times a year they do this to people and get away with it. Think about how many people that don't catch it on their statement. It's easy to overlook because in your mind you assume that the interest given to you when you received the card stays the same as long as you make the payments on time. Generally you just look at the purchases and the amounts to make sure everythings in order.
Credit card companies that do this to unsuspecting consumers make tons of money. Imagine your balance is $1000.00, and they raise your interest rate up to where you are paying an extra 1% that month. They end up making an extra $10.00 off of you. Say they do this to one million people, that adds up to 10 million dollars extra in one month. I know for sure there are more than one million credit cards in use in the United States alone. All I'm saying here is be careful and read your statements carefully. I am not saying all or any specific credit card companies practice this, but I do know it happened to me.
Credit Card Usage
Be careful on how you use your credit card, it doesn't take long to mount up debt, especially if you have more than one credit card. Too many credit cards can get one into serious financial trouble. The biggest thing that gets us into trouble is our way of thinking. We usually tell ourselves that we will be able to pay the bill in full when it gets here in one month. Now, how many times have you told yourself that, and when the bill comes you can't pay off the whole bill or you delay it another month? This is where we wind up getting into trouble. Always remember this about making minimum payments, chances are you are also going to be paying interest on the interest you were charged from the previous month(s).
Here's a Tip: If you need to have at least one credit card, then call the credit card company up and tell them you want your credit limit to be say, $1000.00. At least then you can't get into to much trouble only owing a $1000.00.
Before ATM cards, you had to have a credit card to book airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, etc., etc. Now that we have ATM cards available, we don't need credit cards anymore to be able to do those things. Also, the nice thing about using the ATM card is that you pay for what you are booking (in some cases) right up front and you don't have to worry about that credit card bill coming in at the end of the month. I know an ATM card can be a security problem in some cases, but here's a tip: you can always open another checking or savings account an use that one only for internet or phone purchases. What you do is only keep so much money in there to avoid any service fees from the bank and when you are going to make one of these purchases, go online to your account and transfer the funds into your secondary account. The funds transfered will usually be immediate.
The Woe Of Credit Card Debt
I got into a bad situation once with my credit cards. Not only did I have 3 - 4 Major Credit cards, I also had some store credit cards. I was making my payments OK until three financial woes hit me at one time. Before I knew it, I found myself gathering up my bills and trying to figure out which ones were the most important to pay. I knew then and there I had to find some relief. Luckily at the time there were some non-profit debt counseling companies around.
One of the things you might want to look for first is to see if you can find a place that is offering an APR of 0%. I know this is going to sound crazy, but if your total debt is not off the charts, I would look to finding a credit card company that is offering a 0% transfer. At least this might give you some relief so that you can at least knock your debt down. All money you send in will be applied to your bill and you won't be paying any interest. If you can manage to do this in a cycle, like when your introductory offer is about to expire, find another offer and do another transfer. If you plan on doing this, take the credit cards you get an cut them up or give them to somebody you trust to hold for you in case of an emergency so that you will not use them or should I say it.
Credit Card Counseling And Consolidation
As it is with businesses, you have your ones that are looking out for your interests and you have the ones that are only looking out for their interests. Be very careful in who you choose to do business with. Make sure you do a background check on them. Usually in order to qualify for debt relief you need to be at least in debt over $10,000. What a good company will do for you is contact all your creditors, get your interest rates dropped to as much as 0% and come up with a monthly payment that is within your budget. They will take that monthly payment and disburse it to all your creditors. The place I dealt with was a non-profit organization. Their fee was very small and they were great to deal with.
Being in debt over your head is no picnic. It can cause both mental and physical health problems such as stress, panic attacks, anxiety, depression, a nervous breakdown and so on. It could also destroy your family as well as your life. Do yourself a favor and don't let it get to far. There are so many options out there. Start by calling your creditors, most of them are willing to help. Most of them will give you a 0% or 1% interest rate for up to a year if you fall into hardship. Don't ever try to avoid them, it will only make matters worse. Keeping in constant contact with them as far as giving them updates on your situation, this will give you credibility and they also keep a record of your contacts with them. Be nice to them no matter what, it's not their fault you are in debt. They want to work with people that are willing to try to establish a plan to clear up their debt.
When you do get debt free, open a savings account if you don't have one and start putting some money away. Before you know it you'll have a nice stash put away for your needs and you won't have to rely on credit cards. Think of all the money you'll save by not paying interest on those credit cards. I haven't had a credit card in over 6 years and never had the need for one. We can live without them. What you can do to be prepared for those larger expenses like water heaters, air conditioners, heating systems, car repairs or a new car, a new roof, etc., etc., to know the life expectancy of these items. Take for instance, a water heater usually has a life span of 5-6 years, be prepared with some savings so that when it does go it won't pose a burden on you. Then you can draw on your savings, pay for it in full, no bills, no interest, done deal.
I posted a link in my bio where you can find different companies that will help you deal with your situation, use them if you can. The only thing you can lose by looking into them is your debt. Thank You and I hope you find relief.
Thank You and I hope you find relief.
Author:
Here's that link: http://www.e-bookssite.com/debt_relief_links.htm - For a great shopping experience, try this site out. http://www.e-bookssite.com - more than a shopping mall.
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