September 5, 2010

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Credit Card Debt Reduction

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Getting into debt is easy but getting out of it really a difficult task. This holds good for any kind of debt and includes credit card debt too. Credit card debt reduction needs planning and discipline in the way you spend money.

Credit card debt reduction starts with reduction in the expenditures you make using your credit card. So, the first trick for credit card reduction is to go for shopping without your credit card (carry some small amount of cash). This credit card reduction technique isn’t asking you to stop shopping, instead it’s just asking you to seriously evaluate the need of anything you want to purchase and not just purchase it on the spur of the moment. So, if you really-really need to buy it, you will go back to your home to fetch your credit card thus introducing a delay that is instrumental in killing spur-of-the-moment purchase (and hence helping in credit card debt reduction). It gives you time to evaluate if it’s really worth going back home and getting the credit card for purchasing that item. So, in this case, credit card debt reduction is achieved by preventing the debt from building up further. It’s a very effective credit card debt reduction measure.

The other effective way of credit card debt reduction is debt consolidation i.e. consolidating debt from high APR credit cards to a low APR one. So this credit card debt reduction measure works by reducing the rate at which your credit card debt grows. Moreover, this way of credit card debt reduction also gives you a breather in the form of a short initial period when the APR is 0%. Besides credit card debt reduction, debt consolidation also brings some additional benefits which are basically in terms of rewards etc offered by the new credit card supplier. Thus this method of credit card debt reduction is really more than just a credit card debt reduction method – it’s a benefit provider too. If you are not comfortable in taking forward this method of credit card debt reduction, you can seek the help of a credit card debt assistance company.

Besides these two credit card debt reduction measures, which are really the most important credit card debt reduction measures, there are other methods too for credit card debt reduction. Another one is to ask your current credit card supplier for help in credit card debt reduction i.e. by lowering the APR. It might work out for you (as it does for some people).

Also remember, that there are people (professionals) out there who provide advice on credit card debt reduction (just in case you need them).

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Rolling Your Credit Card Debt Into A Single Payment

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‘Credit card debt consolidation’ seems to be the most talked-about term in the world of credit cards. It’s true that credit cards have been very useful and convenient for us and we, in fact, treat the credit cards as a necessity. However, with every good you have evil too. In the world of credit cards, ‘Credit card debt’ is that evil and ‘Credit card debt consolidation’ is often regarded as a medicine for treating credit card debt.

Anyone who has read any newspaper articles on ‘Credit card debt’ would already know what credit card debt consolidation is. However, just for the benefit of others, credit card debt consolidation, in simple terms, is the process of consolidating debt which you hold on various high APR credit cards onto just one low APR credit card.

Thus, the main benefit of credit card debt consolidation is realized in terms of APR reduction (and hence reduction in credit card debt growth rate). This is touted as the most important benefit (and sometimes the sole benefit) from credit card debt consolidation. However, credit card debt consolidation comes with few more benefits as well. Some of these credit card debt consolidation benefits are widely publicized by the credit card suppliers and some not so much:

1. Initial APR: As mentioned above, lower APR is the biggest benefit from credit card debt consolidation. Since credit card debt consolidation is used by credit card suppliers as a tool to attract consumers, they generally offer a 0% APR for an initial period of 6-9 months of you joining their credit card debt consolidation programmed i.e. first few months after you get the new credit card.

2. Standard APR: Lower standard APR (i.e. the long term APR) is the other important benefit from credit card debt consolidation. Though not all credit card suppliers offer a lower standard APR with credit card debt consolidation some do design credit card debt consolidation programmers with good standard APR. These credit card debt consolidation programmers offer a trade-off between initial and standard APR rates.

3. 0% on purchases: This is another common benefit from credit card debt consolidation. The 0% interest (or some lower percentage) on purchases is offered as an incentive for credit card debt consolidation. This credit card debt consolidation benefit is again applicable only for a short initial period.

4. Easy management: This credit card debt consolidation benefit is not as discussed as others. However, one benefit of credit card debt consolidation (from multiple to single credit card) is the fact that you need to track and manage a lesser number of credit cards.

5. Other benefits: The credit card debt consolidation exercise might bring you some more benefits in terms of rebates, discounts and reward points (especially if you move to a co-branded card as part of credit card debt consolidation)

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How To Reduce Credit Card Debt – Some Solutions

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Can you open your wallet and count more than two credit cards? If you said you had from 3 to 5 cards you may not be in trouble. But if you have over 5 credit cards there is a good chance you are in financial trouble or so close to it; that one emergency could send you over the edge. If that’s the case for you; perhaps its time you learn how to reduce credit card debt.

But first to confirm your suspension you’re in financial trouble because of the credit cards, you should take the time to do a quick study of what’s going on with your credit cards.

1.    Do you know how much money you owe in total?
If you said no you’re in trouble.

2.    Are your credit cards maxed out or very close to being maxed out?
If you said yes you’re in bigger financial trouble than you thought.

3.    Are you and your significant other constantly battling over the credit card bills and other bills?
You really need to eliminate credit card debt.

4.    Are you using your credit cards to buy perishable goods such as food and other staples you need to live?
That is no way to reduce credit card debt. Your just increasing your interest and balance.

5.    Do next month’s bills come in before you can pay this months?
Wow! No doubt you need to know how to cut your credit card bills back.

If you find the above questions describe your situation you have got to reduce your credit card debt. Your next question to yourself is “How do I eliminate credit card debt?î. Actually you have several alternatives available to you.

A. Make a list of all your credit cards

  • Include Balance Owed, Interest Rate, Minimum Payment
  • Put the highest balance and Interest Rate at the top of the list
  • Stating at the top call each credit card company and negotiate lower interest rate, late fees and over limit penalties.
  • Speak only with management.
  • Get new terms in writing

By doing this you will find many of the credit card companies will lower the interest rate and waive the late fees and penalties. This in turn will decrease the monthly interest charged and free up additional cash to make further reduction of your monthly balances.

This method of reducing your credit card debt works best before you start making late payments or missing payments completely. By doing so you will be able to show the management of the company you are honestly trying to prevent a sticky situation. Although some of the credit card companies will work with you, not all of them will.

In the case they don’t want to work with you then you may have to consider an equity loan on your home to consolidate your debts. However, it’s very important to make sure you don’t end up with a loan rate that will cost you more money over the long term. Chances are though your mortgage company or bank will make sure it will be a better rate and you will have it paid off long before you would the credit card debt.

This one solution alone could save you several hundred up to perhaps a thousand dollars in monthly credit card payments. The key to this plan is to use the money you save to reduce the amount owed on the home equity loan. By doing so you may well save thousands in interest and pay the loan off say in five years, instead of the 10 year term of the loan.

By the way if you should get a home equity loan, don’t make the mistake of loading your credit cards back up. You should cut up all your credit cards except one or two to keep for emergencies.
Make sure the ones you keep have the lowest interest rates and keep them paid up in full.

There are other alternative solutions to reduce credit card debt. It will behoove you to take the time to determine what your best solution is.

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