Sunday, June 29, 2008

Credit card debts: causes and prevention



Nowadays, most of the adult will have at least one credit card in their wallet. When a person has a credit card, he is able to spend the money before he earns it. This means he is using future money for current expenses.

One of the reasons that cause credit card debts is the cardholders do not payoff their debt or are late in paying off the minimum payment required. This may because the cardholders are too busy with their work and forget about the payment. Thus, the users should set up a direct debit for the minimum amount and pay off as much of the remaining balance as possible to keep the debts low.

Another general reason for credit card debts is overspending. People tend to spend more than what they earn with the credit card. Thus, a monthly spending plan is essential. Without this plan, they may find themselves spending on the credit card unnecessarily and ended up with a plenty of credit card debts. The cardholders also need to be smart in using credit card in place of cash and make sure they can pay off the cost over time.

A person having too many credit cards may also cause credit card debts. The more credit cards a person has, the more likely they are to use them. Hence, it is advisable to clear any outstanding balances and cancel (in writing) cards that no longer used or just use one or two at a time.

When an individual loses their job or some portion of income, he may have difficulties to payoff his debts. Situation will be worse if he continues to spend the same amount with their reduced income. Thus, he should call up the credit card company and explain the situation to them. The credit card company may agree to freeze his card temporary (and perhaps even the interest rate) and let him paxyoff the debt at an agreed amount each month.

In conclusion, the key to keep away from credit card debts is use the credit card wisely. Plan it before spend!

1 comment:

vingchee said...

credit card still can bring benefits to us if use it wisely.