“ Reduce credit card debt and eliminate it before it assumes a horrifying shape” – This is really the gist of the story. So, how do you reduce credit card debt? Well, you reduce credit card debt by preventing it from increasing and by paying off what it is currently. Simple, isn’t it?
Not really. If it was that simple to reduce credit card debt, then we wouldn’t have had so many people with credit card debt related problems. We would have been able to reduce credit card debt problems and finally eliminate them (or reduce them significantly). There are all kinds of advice available on how to reduce credit card debt, but still nothing much seems to change. The problem still seems to persist and in fact, worsen. However, it’s not that difficult to reduce credit card debt. As we just said, there is a lot of advice available on how to reduce credit card debt and the only thing you need to do is put that advice, on how to reduce credit card debt, to practice in real life. Well, no one but you will benefit if you reduce credit card debt.
So the first step to reduce credit card debt is to prevent it from taking dangerous proportions. The 2 most important ways of implementing this step are – balance transfers and use of cash.
Balance transfer is often treated as the number one measure to reduce credit card debt. This is really something that can help reduce credit card debt by slowing down the pace at which your credit card debt is getting built. It also provides you relief in terms of the APR being 0% for initial 6-9 months (and hence helps reduce credit card debt faster). To reduce credit card debt using this mechanism, you need to transfer your balance from your current credit card(s) onto another credit card that has a lower APR than your current card. Thus you reduce credit card debt by preventing it from increasing so rapidly.
The other preventive measure to reduce credit card debt is to use cash instead of card (as such, hard earned cash is difficult to get out of pocket as compared to just a credit card). So you reduce credit card debt by not adding more to it. That is the simplest way to reduce credit card debt.
However, you can reduce credit card debt only if you stick to your resolution to reduce credit card debt; otherwise it will fail miserably.
The benefits from Credit card debt consolodation
‘Credit card debt consolodation’ seems to be the most talked-about term in the world of credit cards. It’s true that credit cards have been very useful and convenient for us and we, in fact, treat the credit cards as a necessity. However, with every good you have evil too. In the world of credit cards, ‘Credit card debt’ is that evil and ‘Credit card debt consolodation’ is often regarded as a medicine for treating credit card debt.
Anyone who has read any newspaper articles on ‘Credit card debt’ would already know what credit card debt consolodation is. However, just for the benefit of others, credit card debt consolodation, in simple terms, is the process of consolidating debt which you hold on various high APR credit cards onto just one low APR credit card. Thus, the main benefit of credit card debt consolodation is realised in terms of APR reduction (and hence reduction in credit card debt growth rate). This is touted as the most important benefit (and sometimes the sole benefit) from credit card debt consolodation. However, credit card debt consolodation comes with few more benefits as well. Some of these credit card debt consolodation benefits are widely publicised by the credit card suppliers and some not so much:
1. Initial APR: As mentioned above, lower APR is the biggest benefit from credit card debt consolodation. Since credit card debt consolodation is used by credit card suppliers as a tool to attract consumers, they generally offer a 0% APR for a initial period of 6-9 months of you joining their credit card debt consolodation programme i.e. first few months after you get the new credit card.
2. Standard APR: Lower standard APR (i.e. the long term APR) is the other important benefit from credit card debt consolodation. Though not all credit card suppliers offer a lower standard APR with credit card debt consolodation some do design credit card debt consolodation programmes with good standard APR. These credit card debt consolodation programmes offer a trade-off between initial and standard APR rates.
3. 0% on purchases: This is another common benefit from credit card debt consolodation. The 0% interest (or some lower percentage) on purchases is offered as an incentive for credit card debt consolodation. This credit card debt consolodation benefit is again applicable only for a short initial period.
4. Easy management: This credit card debt consolodation benefit is not as discussed as others. However, one benefit of credit card debt consolodation (from multiple to single credit card) is the fact that you need to track and manage a lesser number of credit cards.
5. Other benefits: The credit card debt consolodation exercise might bring you some more benefits in terms of rebates, discounts and reward points (especially if you move to a co-branded card as part of credit card debt consolodation)
It is easy to eliminate credit card debt
Well, anyone who makes this comment is sure to be labelled as a moron. However, let me remind you of a famous quote “Where there is will, there is way”. So that is how easy it is to find a way to eliminate credit card debt. What you really need in order to eliminate credit card debt is “Will Power”.
No matter what method you adopt to eliminate credit card debt, no matter what debt assistance company you approach (for advice on how to eliminate credit card debt), no matter what your friends tell you, “Will Power” is essential if you want to eliminate credit card debt. In fact, this starts from the word go. Just examine the last part of my previous statement “… is essential IF YOU WANT TO eliminate credit card debt”, this statement itself implies that “IF YOU WANT TO” or we can rephrase that as “if you have the will power to” eliminate credit card debt.
Will power is what you need to control your urge to buy everything from the market. Will power is needed to persevere. Will power is needed to analyze your current financial situation. Will power is needed to sit and plan the ways and means that you can adopt to eliminate credit card debt.
Will power is needed to approach a credit card debt assistance company. You also need will power and patience for researching the market for the best balance transfer plans. So really, will power is needed for every aspect of credit card debt elimination. Since “Will Power” is the only thing you need to eliminate credit card debt, we can say that it is easy to eliminate credit card debt. However, this is easier said than done for will power for anything (be it will power to eliminate credit card debt or something else) is hard to come by.
One way of strengthening your will power, that is required to eliminate credit card debt, is to portray the life after you successfully eliminate credit card debt. Portray the peace of mind that you will get after you eliminate credit card debt. How much fun it would be!! Moreover, the sense of achievement would be no lesser either (after all not everyone is able to eliminate credit card debt). Just think about all these good things and build your confidence and your will power to eliminate credit card debt. There is really nothing as powerful as will power. And remember “Where there is will, there is way”.