How to be A Credit Card Debt Dummy

How to be A Credit Card Debt Dummy

by John Stevenson

Anyone that is living or about to live on their own, be they high school graduates or middle aged parents, should understand the uses and perils of credit cards. They can be fantastic tools for charging items when you're a little too short on cash, but using them too often and to charge very large purchases can result in massive debt that some people find it nearly impossible to escape from. The average credit card debt in the US is over $9,000. Chances are you are one of the people that should read about info on credit card debt.

How to Get into Debt

Getting into debt is a lot easier than most people realize. That's a pretty silly statement isn't it? It would be except it is so true. I've been there myself. So how does somebody get into credit card debt without their realizing it at the time? They most likely make a lot of small purchases which add up over time. While eating out at McDonald's or seeing a movie at the theater doesn't seem like much at the time, continual small purchases do add up. A $5 purchase once a day, like that mocha latte you love so much, adds up to $150 a month. Therefore, try paying small purchases with cash or a debit card as opposed to a credit card. Or cut out the latte a few times a week.

I'm sure you know enough about getting in to debt. What should you do to get out of debt? Don't ignore the bills! If you do, your credit rating will suffer, making loans and other lines of credit harder to acquire over time. When you get bills, pay them on time. This will help minimize the interest that you accumulate from credit companies. Interest doesn't go down on its own. When many people ignore it, it grows to unmanageable proportions. A $5,000 balance can grow to $15,000. Pay your bills.

Are you in over your head? For more info on credit card debt, you can turn to credit counseling companies to give you an idea of how long it would take to pay off a particular balance with a particular interest rate. Better yet, stop making the minimum payments. By paying more than the minimum payment, you can easily shave 50% of the interest payments off. This is just a basic amount of info on credit card debt. Don't let it ruin your life. For more information please visit Reduce Credit Card Debt.