Dealing with credit card debt - and high interest rates
03.September, 2008
Here is one man’s take on how to cope with credit card debt. He touches on just how much interest the credit card companies can actually charge their customers (it can be astonishingly high - check the fine print of your credit card agreement to see just how high).
Along with increasingly exessive late fees and other surcharges, credit card interest has continued to climb in many cases DESPITE the decline in the Fed rates.
So take a look at this man’s take on the subject. The intro to the video reads:
“A step by step video talking about the reality of credit card debt, and how the credit card companys are really charging you 83.3% interest.”
Duration : 0:9:59
Credit Card Debt and Legislation
02.September, 2008
Here is a very interesting video on credit card debt and potential legislation to help people who are in debt and facing bankruptcy.
While I thoroughly agree with this man’s contention that something should and must be done to reign in credit card companies from abusing their customers with unfair interest rate hikes and over limit fees and the like, I don’t necessarily agree with his conclusion - that bankruptcy is the only current option available for people with large amounts of credit card debt.
In fact, in my experience and from my studies on the matter, there are definitely viable alternatives to credit card bankruptcy.
Specifically, it can be possible to negotiate with your creditors to reduce the amount you owe substantially and to reduce or eliminate the interest and fees you owe as well.
In fact, the very threat of declaring bankruptcy has been and remains the key weapon in your arsenal as a debtor - the credit card companies know that, should you eventually declare bankruptcy, they could very well lose everything.
Therefore, they can at times be convinced to take less than 100% of your principal (sometimes less than HALF!). It is essential, however, that you do your homework and know exactly how to approach them, or you could get burned, and badly.
That’s why I’ve long recommended that people check out the services offered by Zipdebt.com, which offers great support and training to teach you exactly how to approach your creditors and negotiate a fair settlement - one that you can actually afford to pay off.
But this video does make an excellent point. Contact your legislators and voice your support for credit card reform!
Duration : 0:2:6