Credit Card Advice

Archive for the ‘credit card debt’ Category

Being burdened with accrued unpaid dues and charges can be one of the worst things that can happen to a credit card holder. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, fear not as there is always help available. You just need to be willing and can speak to somebody who knows how to consolidate credit card debt. Transferring all your debts to the same card is perhaps the most common method adopted by people but you may also find a new card where you can transfer your balance and pay your debt before the offer ends, which is usually within 12 months.

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The main tip to reducing your Irish credit card costs is to pay them off every month. But in real life, that’s not always possible. Emergencies come up, and you need time to pay off your expenses. But if you can’t pay off your entire balance every month, the next best thing you can do to keep expenses down is to pay as much as you can, and pay on time. That way you’ll keep your average daily balance as low as possible (which is what your minimum payments are based on), and you won’t be hit with late fees. If you have a low APR credit card, then the interest will be low also, just in case you cant pay back the whole amount borrowed in one go!

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1) A Vacation

We’re all in need of a vacation once in a while but going into debt for a plane ticket or hotel stay is a bad idea all around. Accumulating debt to take a trip somewhere sunny might be exactly what you’d like to do right now but sit down and look at your finances before you get too excited about the trip. You don’t really need to go – of course, it would be nice but make sure you have the cash first. It’s that simple.

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If you’re like most Americans, you have a huge cloud of debt hovering overhead; and most of that debt comes from credit cards. Credit card companies make it so easy to sign up for them. Sometimes you get a zero percent interest rate (at least at first) and sometimes you get a free hat, T-shirt or some other free gift. It’s only after the card arrives that most people go crazy with them.

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Feel you have far too much credit card debt?  You are far from alone.  In 2009 credit card debt was at an amazing £53 billion!  With so much debt happening, and the credit crunch still biting, no matter what experts say about recovery, it is no wonder people are starting to feel the pinch.

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There’s nothing unique about Irish credit card debt compared to credit card debt elsewhere in the world. It is true that Ireland has suffered more than other countries in the worldwide recession, but even with a new economic reality, getting rid of Irish credit card debt is similar to getting rid of any other debt: it is a matter of commitment and hard work.

Most people, particularly if they travel, cannot do without a credit card. They can, however, do without eight or nine credit cards. Most money experts suggest having two credit cards, both of which provide a backstop in times of trouble. For those with multiple credit cards, there are several options for paying off your debt.

One option is transferring debt onto a new credit card with a low introductory interest rate and putting all your effort into paying that debt off before the “teaser” interest rate expires. It sounds like a great idea in principle, but if you can’t pay off €4,000 indefinitely with 14.9% interest, it isn’t that much more likely you’ll be able to pay it off in the 10 months or so that you have the low rate on the new card.

There are two approaches to paying off credit card debt. One is to pay off the one with the highest interest rate first. It makes sense that you’d want to pay off your most expensive debt before paying off your cheaper debt. If you choose to do this, and the card with the high rate has a big balance, you can certainly do it, but it will take serious discipline. If you can look at your statements online and watch as the balance falls, however, you can really draw motivation from that to keep working on the debt.

Another technique for paying off credit card debt is the “snowball” technique. That means you pay off your smallest debt first, then close the account, on the theory that you’ll be really chuffed at having got rid of an entire card’s worth of debt. Repeat with the new smallest debt, etc.

Either technique will work, and there is discipline involved in both. Which method you choose depends on your particular personality and what motivates you.

Consolidating loans may sound like a great way to get out of debt, but human nature being what it is, the sense of relief causes a lot of people to run up a whole new cycle of debt. In other words, borrowing your way out of debt is usually counterproductive.