Back To Credit Cards

I apologize, my post yesterday wasn't quite in line with what this week was to be about, however this is something that really touched me, and I wanted to write about.  So, we'll get back on track today.

Now that you have determined what your balance, minimum payment, and interest rate is, it's time to get to work!  I am going to list your steps below, and I want you to begin them immediately!

1.  Put your credit cards on a spreadsheet, listed from the highest interest rate to the lowest interest rate.
2.  Also write down your balance next to each, so you can see how much you're about to attack!
3.  We previously established a budget, which should now reflect how much you have to spend in credit card payment each month.  I want you to take this amount and subtract all of the monthly payments for each card, except the one with the highest interest rate.  I now want you to take the remainder of the amount and pay it to the card with the highest interest rate until that balance is gone.
4.  Once the first balance is gone, you'll continue to do the same process over, until you eliminate your credit card debt.  Trust me, it can be done, and you can succeed at this!  Do not get down on yourself, stay positive and focused.  IT WILL HAPPEN!!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about the credit card topic.  Everyone have a good day!

Cutting Back This Christmas?

I know this week we have been talking about credit cards, but I’m going to divert today to talk about a good article I read in the Oklahoman yesterday, written by Martha Wagoner of the Associated Press.  It talks about kids that are asking this Christmas for things such as a job for their parents, food, a home, and other necessities.  This shows how the affects of the economy are being felt.  Even our small children are beginning to realize what many people are going thru, and are trying to help out.  I hope that many of us this Christmas focus more on what we have, and not what we want.  So, I challenge you to do something this Christmas for somebody you don’t know.  It could be something as simple as dropping money in the Salvation Army bucket, or making a donation to an organization.  I know for myself, reading this story reminds me that I should take nothing for granted, and makes me appreciate life even more.

I hope everyone has a good day. 

Credit Cards: What Is Your Minimum Payment?

For the last few days, we’ve been discussing credit cards and how they can affect your ability to save money.  Continuing on with this discussion, I want you to look at the most recent statement of each of your credit cards, and see what it shows your minimum payment to be each month.  Put this on the same page that you have all of your balances and interest rates.  We are slowly building a centralized location, in which you can also start to see the credit card balances decrease in the future.

See, another easy task!  You’re getting the hang of what this is all about now.  Saving money does not have to be hard, and we’re not going to make it be hard either! 

Credit Cards: What Is Your Interest Rate?

Yesterday, we wrote down each of our credit cards along with their balances.  We added up the number of cards, and the total balance of all cards combined.  Hopefully both of these numbers are not too high, but if they are, don’t worry!  You’re now beginning to become more financially savvy, so things are going to change!

What I want you to do today: now that you know how many credit cards you have, write down the interest rate that each credit card company charges you.  This will typically run anywhere from 9%-20%, however it could be higher if you’ve had late payments in the past.  You should easily be able to find it on your statement.  If you're not sure how much, that's a problem!  Find out NOW!  So, that’s it.  See, this doesn’t have to be hard.  Just make sure you get those numbers written down, in preparation for our next step!

Have a great day!

Credit Card Week: Let’s Get Rid of the Debt!

I hope you enjoyed this last weekend without the use of your credit card.  If you have, congratulations, you’ve beaten my first challenge to you.  If not, that’s okay, there will be others.  I encourage you to continue thinking twice before using it, until we can get your current debt paid off.

Hopefully you also took the weekend to think about your current credit card debt, and how much you really have.  It’s so easy to not realize how much you actually have when you have multiple credit cards. If you read my post from yesterday, you’ll see some of the realistic facts about how long it can take to pay off.  First off, today I want you to write down all of your credit cards, and the current balance of each.  Once you’ve done that, add up the number of credit cards that you have and also the total balance of all the credit cards combined. 

We will continue Credit Card Week tomorrow, with a new task.  I want these to be easy to complete quickly, as this is a very important topic.  Everyone have a great day!

The Cost of Credit Card Debt

Many people don't realize the true cost of keeping credit card debt. They believe it's more important to have new clothes, a new gadget, or the latest and greatest big screen TV. I ran some numbers that are very surprising. I ran a scenario based on making the minimum credit card payment for a $1,000 balance with a 19% interest rate, which is fairly common. If you charge nothing else, it will take you 8 years to get the card paid off, and you'll spend another $1,000 in interest.

So. What you thought was a good deal when you bought that $10 sweater, became a bad deal real quick. I hope this encourages to reconsider using a credit card if you're not paying it off every month.