Credit card debt help... fast and free
This might sound terribly obvious, but if you are looking for credit card debt help , the first place to look is in the mirror.
The first step in getting out of debt is to STOP accumulating new debt.
Think of this as a crash course of debt management counseling. The best part is, this "course" doesn't cost you a cent, and you can get started right this moment.
If you are deep in credit card debt, the time to start confronting your debt is now. The sooner you start, the sooner you will be debt free and be able to get on with your life.
So stop spending today, and you will be well on your way to dealing with your financial situation. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?
The tricky part
Well, stopping spending should be simple. Of course what complicates matters is that we are all addicted to spending.
American consumer debt is fast approaching 2 trillion dollars. That's two TRILLION. It's as if we're all addicted to debt, and the credit card services companies are our pushers.
But enough is enough. You need to make a commitment, right here, right now, to stop accumulating debt. Swear on a stack of Bibles. Slice up your credit cards. Lock them away in a safe deposit box. Whatever it takes for you to stop adding to your debt, DO IT.
Consider the what your spending habits have cost you and what they will continue to cost you far into the future. How will your debt affect your family? Your mental health? Your physical health? Your retirement plans? The cost is simply too high. Another plasma TV or new home theater system is just not worth the years and decades of indebtedness that will inevitably follow if you do not STOP SPENDING NOW.
What is the true cost of your debt?
Let's assume you went ahead and bought that plasma TV at the age of 25. It was a "steal" at $4,495. Assuming your credit card has an interest rate of 17.9% (many store charge cards have much higher rates than this). Now assume you make your minimum payments, which would start around $90 a month.
At this rate, it would take you 532 months - that's over 44 YEARS - and cost you $12,416 in interest to pay for that "bargain" plasma TV. By that point, you would be 68 years old and that TV would long ago have ended up in the scrap heap.
Now, let's assume you missed a payment or two and your credit company bumped the interest rate up to 26% (they often raise rates even higher). In this case, your monthly payment would be bumped up to $112, and it would take you over 800 months and would cost you over $25,000 in interest alone - you would be well over 100 years old before you paid off that one "bargain" TV, and that is assuming you never used your credit card again!
It really isn't worth it
You must make the decision to stop adding to your debt, and you must do it NOW. Once you have done so, you should immediately start to implement one of the debt reduction strategies outlined on this site.
If you are facing calls from debt collectors, first learn how to deal with them by checking out our COLLECTION AGENCY page.
Many forms of credit card debt help are available. It is simply a matter of educating yourself on the various methods and selecting the one the best fits your individual needs.
But before you begin to tackle your debt, you simply must do whatever it takes to stop spending.
Once you have fully and finally committed to retiring your credit cards, take a deep breath, smile, and then move on to learn about the SIMPLEST METHOD OF DEBT ELIMINATION.