I wanted to share with you a story of how a young financially smart person got into and out of about 14 thousand in credit card debt. I thought I was doing good with my money by saving a lot during my young days, while accumulating debt on the flip side of the coin. The year is 2007 and I had just been laid off from a great paying job, subprime mortgages. Now I can’t even recall how I got into so much debt, but I believe it had to do with unhappiness in a previous life situation plus the fact that America was in a credit card spending frenzy.
I was spending without any concern between years 2002 through 2007 just to get rewarded for credit card points. I am hoping that all of you can take this advice to heart and realize that those credit card points are not worth it. One of my overall goals with this site is to attempt to help others avoid the same mistakes I made. Why you ask? Because the younger you are, the greater the chance you will do well financially with some guidance. See Below for the tips.
7 Steps to Eliminate Credit Card Debt:
1. Never use debt to accumulate points for useless exorbitantly high rewards
2. Do not charge daily living expenses on credit cards
3. Do not save up money until after you have paid off you’re debt
4. Use all savings to help pay down debt faster (keep only 1-2K in savings for emergencies)
5. If your interest rate is high, do a balance transfer to a lower rate
6. Avoid cards with annual card fees
7. Do not pay only the minimum
This is what I did to eliminate the 14 thousand dollar debt monster. What did I charge through out the years to accumulate all that debt. Honestly I can not recall, but I would assume the bulk of it was spent on watches, sneakers, car accessories, gifts and every day life expenses. I had the mentality that the more I charged the faster I would be rewarded with those powerful credit card points. Which in turn rewarded me with useless products from their rewards shopping catalog. Always remember that credit card companies use all the tactics possible to bait you to spend more. They want you to eventually live life cash strapped by paying the minimum for life and extending the interest you pay them. If you fall for their game you will lose and possibly be in a paycheck to paycheck scenario for a long while.
Sometimes we get carried away in getting things that we do not see the damage that is being done on a daily basis. Keeping careful track of budget categories expenses will solve that problem. Another thing that really helped me improve on my spending habits, is to simply avoid the malls and superstores. By 2010 I was done with paying it all off and a big monkey was lifted off my back.
So please do your best to take the advice above and delay gratification with immediate wants. Credit card companies want you to fail at life. Being in debt for me is failing at life.
Comment if you have slashed debt from your life?
Rich Uncle EL
