Tools and Tips
Latest Blog EntriesHot Tips for Paying of Holiday Credit Card Debt Is Your Bank Overdrafting You? Latest ArticlesHow Credit Cards Help Save on Vacation Expenses Kick Your Addiction to Credit Cards 5 Tips on How to Use a Credit Card Wisely |
|
BillSavings.com BlogNo Surprise--Credit Counseling on the RisePosted By Sarah
BillSavings.com Brief:
Credit card counseling requests are skyrocketing. Do you need help figuring out how to get out of credit card debt? Here are some tips.
Here's an astonishing fact: A typical credit counseling client owes 62% of their annual household income on credit cards alone. You may think this staggering statistic is caused by increases in job cuts, but these people just plain don't know how to manage money. Request for help are up from 1.5 million in 2006 to 3.2 million in 2008, and climbing 34% already in 2009. The credit card debt doesn't include home loan, car loan or any other debt which can be drowning these folks. How can this be happening? One survey showed that nearly 33% of Americans have no savings outside of retirement plans, and 33% have not even saved for retirement. 28% didn't know the rate and terms of their mortgages, and 25% had paid at least one bill late. If this hits a little close to home, you need some Financial Literacy! Get some money smarts fast, avoid common money mistakes, and take control of your debt and your life. You might want to try using the debt snowball spreadsheet to figure out a plan to pay off your debt using different strategies the experts recommend. Even hard-liner Suze Orman has changed her advice about using savings to pay off your credit card debt. She now favors holding onto your cash and paying minimums only if you don't have an emergency fund of many months expenses. But you may still be wondering, if I am one of the folks who does have savings, should I use my savings or extra cash to pay off my high interest credit cards? It's pretty simple: if you pay off a 15% credit card balance it's like getting a 15% tax free income boost. But if you're in a shaky job situation or other unstable financial circumstances you may want to hold onto your cash. Watch this video for more insights:
Category: Credit Cards 6/16/2009
|
|
|
