Five Easy Tips on Avoiding Credit Card Debt
A Credit Article Contributed by Joyce James
No Credit Card? No Credit Card Debt!
Do you know that the average American walks around with at least $2000 worth of credit card debt? It's shocking but true: Credit card debt is the necessary evil of a life with credit cards.
The more credit cards you keep stored in your wallet, the more you will use them and the more you risk accruing credit card debt. Today, life is based on wanting things and getting them...fast. And the good old credit card provides the perfect means to attain what we want. The constant lure of easy money is often too strong to resist.
But the sanest piece of advice my grandmother ever gave me is: If you haven't already got a card dearie, don't get one!
Get to Know Your Credit Card Fees and Interest Charges
Of course, my grandmother lived in another world. These days almost everyone's got a credit card! Most of you already know that if don't pay off all of your credit card debt promptly at the end of each month, it just grows and grows as if it has a life of its own.
In a way it does. And that life force is called interest. Interest charges and other fees are the worst thing about credit cards. But if you know about the annual fees, current interest rates, finance charges and cash-advance fees you'll be better able to manage your card and your debt.
For example: keep a look out for lower interest rates offered by other cards. Sometimes you can transfer your credit card debt balance to another credit card and take advantage of the low rates offered as an introductory special offer. Just make sure you check that the new credit card offers the same or lower interest rate after the offer expires.
Forget Cash Advances If You Want to Avoid Credit Card Debt
Cash advances may be the absolute best thing about a credit card, but they are monsters in disguise! Never, ever, get a cash advance, unless you are in a life or death situation. Really! The interest rates are huge, much higher than when you make a normal purchase in a store, and not only that, you usually get lumped with an extra service fee.
Pay More Than the Minimum Monthly Payments to Reduce Credit Card Debt Fast
Making just the minimum payments won't get you into trouble with the bank, but you won't be getting rid of your debt anytime this century either. The only way to reduce credit card debt is to pay more than the minimum monthly payment. That way, you'll be paying off your purchases and not the accruing interest.
Read up on Credit Cards and Credit Card Debt
Sometimes advice tips such as these are simply not enough. Understanding the bigger picture may better help you learn how to help yourself. Read some good books on credit cards: Look out for Howard Strong's "What Every Credit Card User Needs to Know", Barry Klein's "The Insider's Guide to Credit Cards" and Scott Bilker's "Credit Card and Debt Management: A Step-by-Step How-to Guide for Organizing Debt and Saving Money on Interest Payments".
