Automatically Pay Off Your Credit Cards And Become Debt Free
Is your credit card debt getting you down? Chances are its true.
In America today, the average family owes over $6,000 to their
credit card provider, which attracts an average of $1,500 in
interest alone each year. Over one in five people are paying
additional fees on top of that for late or missed payments. And
in the UK, 70,000 people went bankrupt last year because they
couldn't pay their debts. It's a downwards spiral more and more
people feel trapped in.
Is this you? Be honest to yourself. If you don't know how much
you owe, stop reading this article now and find out the
outstanding balance of all your credit cards, loans and store
cards. Work out how much money you are wasting each month in
interest payments.
Then relax. Here's a strategy to automatically pay off your
credit cards and become debt free. Follow the steps one by one
and you will soon be free from high-interest bad debt.
1. Be honest with yourself. How much do you owe?
Most people shy away when being honest with themselves over how
much in debt they really are. Do you? I know I used to. If you
didn't work out how much you owe when I said to a few moments
ago, stop now and work it out.
Now, create a wall chart. Write down today's date, and how much
you owe. Stick it on the wall where you'll see it first thing
each morning.
2. Stop paying interest today
Go to www.fool.com and look at 0% interest balance transfer
credit card offers. Find one you like the look of and apply for
it today. Transferring all your debts on to one credit card that
doesn't charge interest will save you thousands of pounds each
year, all for half an hours work applying for the cards.
If a credit card provider turns you down? Just go and apply to
another one.
Write down the details of your new credit card on your
wallchart. In particular, note the date the 0% rate expires.
This way, when you're a month away from the 0% interest rate
expiring, you can apply for another card and transfer the
balance across again. Credit card companies can't stop you
transferring your balance. You never need to pay another cent in
interest again! It only takes a few moments to apply for a new
credit card, so there's no excuse for not transferring your
balance from one card to another and taking advantage of this
loophole.
3. Change your purchasing habits
Most people accumulate large credit card debt by purchasing lots
of little items, thinking they'll pay them off later, but never
do. If this is you, you need to change your purchasing habits.
I have a note in the window section of my wallet. It says "Will
I use it? Is it worth it? Can I buy it next week? Is it cheaper
anywhere else?" I can't fail to see it every time I open my
wallet to buy something. It's a great way to stop impulse
buying, the sort of buying pattern that can easily result in
large credit card debt.
And stop buying things with your credit card or cash. Use a
debit card instead. Most banks supply them with their current
account. If yours doesn't, change your bank. Debit cards take
the money out of your current account as you use it, unlike
credit cards which just increase your debts. They leave a paper
trail - with cash you often forget what you've been spending
money on and, as a result, spend more than you need.
4. Payday. Pay yourself first.
When payday comes around, subtract 10% from your earnings
immediately and transfer it to your credit card. I mean 10%. Not
9%, not 5%. Take off 10% and reduce your debt the day your
salary is paid into your bank account.
This is such a good habit to adopt. By the end of the month,
you'll hardly have noticed the reduced balance you started with.
And when you've paid off your credit card debt, it's a good
habit to keep up, but instead transfer the money to a
high-interest savings account rather than your credit card.
Commit yourself to this habit. It'll make the process of paying
off your credit cards automatic.
5. Every month: update results and celebrate!
Each month, update your wallchart. See how well you're doing.
Look how much of your debt you've cleared off in the past few
weeks. Work out how long its going to take you to become debt
free. It'll happen quicker than you think. And just imagine how
good it will feel once you've removed the shackles of debt from
around your ankles.