Credit Card Debt is simpler to get out of than you think
Credit card debt stems from many different problems, whether it’s the loss of a job, illness of a loved one or just overspending. Making monthly payments may be last on your list in the face of greater troubles, but your financial mistakes today could affect the price you pay on housing, cars and virtually everything for the next seven years. Your immediate options to make good on bad credit debt include: budgeting, credit counseling, debt consolidation, debt negotiation, home equity loans and bankruptcy.
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If you’re brave, then you can usually call and negotiate a repayment plan yourself to fix credit card arrears. Often, the first step toward regaining control is to assess how much money you make versus how much money you spend by listing your income sources, as well as your fixed expenses and variable expenses. Prioritize by unsecured credit card debt, mortgage payments and bills, then tack on food, health care, insurance and education. You may want to buy a computer software program like Quicken to keep track of expenses and bill payments. Next you can try contacting your creditors to work out a credit card debt payment plan.
To keep out of credit card debt, you should first only take advantage of offers you actually need. There is no reason to ever have more than two or three credit cards. Having an unsecured credit card you never use is worse than just buying one thing per month and paying it off each month. To build your credit wisely, you may want to use a secured credit card, where you pay the bank your credit limit upfront and then only take out what you have put in, which is sort of like a debit card, only this one gets reported to all three credit bureaus to show your progress. Speaking of debit, use your credit card as you would a debit card, subtracting each purchase from your savings to be sure you’re not overspending. Ideally, you’ll want to pay on time and in full because only paying off the minimum balances can take years to pay off the full amount, given the interest. Make sure you do not max out your credit cards. If you’re using over 30% of your available credit limit, then your credit scores will go lower.
Rather than go through credit restoration services, you may want to attack your credit report on your own. You can order a free copy of your credit report from all 3 of the major credit bureaus, which are TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, at www.annualcreditreport.com, which should show all your late payments, collections accounts, loans and outstanding debts from the past 7-10 years. You can dispute some of the credit card debt or notations for free, which could boost your low credit score. You may click a few buttons online or mail in updated records to the credit bureaus or you may want to call your creditors directly and ask them to remove outdated information for you. This sometimes works for inaccurate information, but it’s not a guarantee. Usually, when you mess up on your payments, you have to take a hit for at least 1-2 years. The good news is that your payment history from the past 48 months counts the most, so you can repair your credit by turning over a new leaf and borrowing more responsibly.
If given the opportunity most people would choose to live free and clear of all bills. That includes a home mortgage, a new car and credit cards. There would be enough money each month so that they could put back towards retirement or education. In a perfect world everyone would have exactly what they wanted and needed. But this is not a perfect world. Most people rely on credit cards, loans and mortgages in order to live. These allow them to live the way they want but it also puts them in bad credit.
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