Saturday, November 24, 2007

How to Get Rid of Credit Card Bills

Credit card bills can quickly pile up and, without a plan, debt can accumulate and ruin your personal finances. Getting rid of credit card debt is possible. However, this usually requires some sort of sacrifice. The disadvantages of high credit card bills include higher interest rates on future loans, decreased credit score and lack of disposable income. However, with patience and diligence, you can erase credit card bills and fix your finances.

Instructions

    1

    Stop hiding from your debt. Pull out a calculator and all your credit card bills and compute the sum total of your debts.

    2

    Check your finances to see if you have extra money after paying bills. Write down your monthly expenses and deduct this amount from your monthly income to determine your extra or disposable income.

    3

    Establish a date to pay off your debts based on your extra income each month. If you have $500 left over each month after paying your essential bills, you can pay off a $5,000 credit card bill in approximately 10 months--providing you stick with a budget and eliminate extra spending.

    4

    Negotiate a better interest rate on credit cards to pay off the bill sooner. High interest rate credit cards are difficult to eliminate because a large percentage of your minimum payment isn't applied to the principle balance. Talk with creditors to see if they'll lower your rate. If not, consider a balance transfer to a low-rate card.

    5

    Raise your payment amount. Not everyone can afford to put hundreds of dollars toward their credit card bill each month. Do what you can. Rather than submit a $20 or $25 payment each month, double or triple your payments to help pay down the principle balance.

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