We have helpful finance management advice on debt, loans and credit cards

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Credit card debt have you drowning financially? You’re not alone. The average American household carries $9,205 in credit card debt, according to CardWeb, an online industry tracker. Not managed properly, this debt can come to eat up all of your disposable income leaving little or nothing for bare necessities. Some people in this situation respond by charging more but that will only get you further in trouble.

Fail to plan and you plan to fail

There is this clich that states that if you fail to plan you plan to fail. The first thing you need to do is evaluate where you want to be. Do you want freedom from your credit card burden? If so, you need to develop a different action plan to the one you are currently following. Makes sense doesn’t it?

Start by listing all of the debt you currently owe along with a list of what your monthly obligations are for each debt. At the top of the page, list the amount of income available to pay these debts after essentials like food, hydro, etc… are taken out. When listing essentials, it’s important to include a certain amount for clothes, medical and entertainment because no matter how good your intentions, you will spend some money in these areas. If you budget ahead for them, you are less likely to just waste it.

Start paying one credit card first

Don’t try to pay off all of your credit cards at once. Doing this will take too long and end up discouraging you. You’re better off concentrating on getting one card paid off, then putting the money you’ve freed up from that one card and applying it to the next one and so forth.

Which credit card charges you the highest rate of interest? Start with that one. Pay the minimum due on all of your credit cards expect for the one you have chosen to focus on first. On that card, put as much money as your budget allows onto the card after all of your expenses and debts have been factored in. Keep doing this month after month until the credit card balance goes to zero.

Loose all credit cards except one

Plan to keep one major credit card for unexpected expenses, car rentals and emergencies. Get rid of all your other cards as you pay them off. Most people can’t resist the temptation to spend money on a clean card. If this describes you, you’re better off without many credit cards than you are to get right back into deep credit card debt.

Follow this plan, and depending on how much you owe, in a year or so, you should have pretty much achieved credit card debt freedom!

In today’s plastic savvy times, it is just so easy to fall into debt. The great thing about credit cards is that you don’t need to pay anything upfront making it so much easy for all of us to shop for our favorite products. But the flip side of it is that most people do not realize that the credit card companies levy exorbitant interests if you do not pay the bills on time. The result: you are thrust neck deep into debt.

So what options do you have? Declaring bankruptcy or just hiding yourself under the bed? Hardly a solution! The first thing to do is to accept and admit that you are in debt. There is no need to be ashamed of your financial crisis. With UK’s current deficit touching the 1 trillion mark, there are a lot of UK residents who are facing similar situations.

The next thing that is likely to pop up in your mind is whether you should hide your debt status from your lenders or disclose it. Your first instinct is going to tell you to let thing be the way they are. But that is not a correct approach. Most companies will be willing to work out an agreement with you as long as you keep them informed about your inability to keep up with the payments. So go ahead and tell them about your financial crisis.

That’s done; now you must draw out a list of your debts and outstanding payments. Compile a financial statement of sorts and find out to what extent your outgoings are exceeding your income. Leaving aside the bare necessities like gas, food, water and electricity, can you cut down on any of your other expenses? Check if you are missing out on any benefits that you may be eligible for.

If status still seems abysmal, what you can do is draw out a debt consolidation loan. This loan basically wraps up all your debts into a single loan. So, now you don’t have to worry about several monthly payments. A single monthly payment will do for all other payments.

What’s great about debt consolidation loans is that they come at an interest rate that is a lot lower than the cumulated interests of your credit card bills and other outstanding payments. Add to this, you no longer have to deal with the harrowing calls of your creditors. Your consolidation loan lender will take care of all that. He will negotiate with your creditors and you have to just worry about paying this single loan and nothing else.

A debt consolidation loan will not only help you get out of your debt swamp, but also help you in improving your credit score. This is a far better option than declaring bankruptcy wherein your credit score goes straight for a nosedive. However, you must remember to pay your debt consolidation loan installments on time, lest you end up facing a legal action.