How did we get ourselves into so much debt?
Living Beyond Means – Having a credit card allows you to spend more than you make each month, at least for a while. Once you begin living beyond your means, it’s easy to accumulate high levels of credit card debt rapidly.
Not having a budget – If you don’t have any sort of plan for how much you’re going to spend, save, and invest, then it’s easy to rely too much upon credit cards and wind up heavily in debt.
Unexpected Emergencies – Most Americans don’t have enough money in savings to cover a $1,000 emergency. Therefore, when there’s an unexpected medical expense or a sudden home repair required, they turn to high-interest credit cards to foot the bill.
Making only minimum payments – People often fail to pay more than the minimum payments on their credit cards each month. Doing so allows the balance to continue to accumulate; and, if you don’t pay attention, you can find yourself saddled with ballooning debt for literally decades.
Impulsive Buying – It’s easy to pull out a credit card to pay for something you want, even if you cannot afford it. If you do this sort of thing too often, debt is sure to build up fast.
Help Signs of too much Debt
You may think that you are handling your credit cards responsibly but truth be told, this may not be the case at all. Here are the danger signs to watch out for that you’re beginning to have a serious problem with your credit card debts.
You’ve maxed out the credit limit on most of your cards
You are able to make only the minimum payment required on your cards
You almost always spend more than you earn each month
You’re not sure what might be on your credit reports or how much you actually owe
You are forced to miss payments on some of your bills in order to pay others
You’re using cash advances on one credit card to make the payments on others
You’ve been forced to use credit cards to make day-to-day purchases such as movie tickets, groceries or fast food
You and your spouse or partner constantly argue about money
You recently applied for new credit or a loan and were turned down
When you run into an unexpected expense such as an auto repair you typically panic
You are receiving calls from creditors regarding overdue bills
You think you may be forced to file for bankruptcy
What Not to do with debt
If you find yourself laboring under a huge load of credit card bills, do not despair. There are programs and companies that exist that could help you recover. You have a lot of options to choose from but the most important thing is to understand your current situation. But you also need to know your options and what your next step should be. Plus, you need to understand what not to do with your credit card debt.
First of all, don’t just do nothing. That is the worst thing you could do. It’s critical that you not ignore those credit card bills because if you do the interest will keep compounding and you will sink deeper and deeper into debt. As an example of this if you owed $10,000 on your credit cards at an average interest rate of 15% with a minimum payment of $225 a month it would take you 335 months to pay off the $10,000 and it would cost you $11,979.29 just in interest or more than the amount you had borrowed.
Another thing that you should not do – at least if you do not have to –is filing for bankruptcy. There are instances where declaring that you are broke would be your only way out of debt. However, even filing for bankruptcy will not relieve you of all your debt obligations. The most popular type of bankruptcy for people overcome with debt is called a chapter 7. It will wipe out credit card debts and other types of unsecured debts including medical expenses, personal loans, installment loans, department store credit cards, gas cards, cell phone bills and veterinarian bills in excess of $500. However, it will not discharge or eliminate secured debts including your mortgage or automobile loan as well as child support, back taxes, spousal support, NSF (not sufficient funds) checks, car repair bills and insurance policies.
While a chapter 7 bankruptcy will discharge or get rid of many of your debts it comes with severe repercussions. For one thing, you’ll find it very difficult to get new credit in the future. If you apply for a new credit card or loan in two or three years after your bankruptcy your application will either be declined or you will be hit with a very high interest rate as potential lenders will see you as a high risk. You will be required to pay higher premiums on your automobile insurance and may not be able to rent a house or apartment. And, of course, buying a house will be totally out of the question for 10 years as that’s how long the bankruptcy will stay in your credit reports. It will also be in your personal file for the rest of your life.
Don’t Close those card accounts
Finally, it’s a mistake to close any credit cards especially those you’ve had for many years. In addition to not being able to use those cards anymore it will have a seriously negative effect on your credit score. There are two reasons for this. The first is that 30% of your credit score is based on your credit utilization or how much credit you’ve used versus the total amount you have available or your total limits. This is sometimes called the debt-to-credit ratio. Let’s suppose that you had total credit available of $10,000 and had used up $2000 of it. You would have a credit utilization of 20%, which would be very good. But if you were to close two of those credit cards so that your total credit limit dropped to $4000 you would now have a debt-to- credit ratio of 50% and this would have a very bad effect on your credit score.
Second, 15% of your credit score is based on your length of credit history or how long you’ve had credit. If you’ve had a credit card for 10 years and close it, this would not only negatively affect your debt-to-credit ratio but also your length of credit history and would be a double hit to your credit score.
get ready for debt contact us today
DISCLAIMER – EraseMyDebt123 does not provide direct debt adjustment services, but, upon request, acts as a locator service for BBB registered companies. It is ultimately up to you to determine whether the companies that we may introduce you to are appropriate for your situation. For debt consolidation programs, where permissible by law, companies may charge a one-time enrollment fee typically from $25 up to $75 for account establishment and for debt relief proposals submitted on your behalf to each of your creditors. Monthly program administration fees will vary from $5 but no greater than $75 depending on your state of residence and/or the number of creditors who agree to accept proposals and become enrolled in the program. Fees subject to change if permissible by law. For debt settlement programs, by law, you may not be charged any fee until a debt settlement is arranged on your behalf, you approve the settlement, and at least one payment is made towards the settlement. Each program offered by independent financial service providers is unique so ask them for their complete details of the program and fees.
Not all consumers are able to complete debt relief programs for various reasons, including their ability to save sufficient funds. The use of debt resolution services could negatively impact your credit and may result in legal action on the part of creditors or collectors for unpaid balances. Consumers enrolled in debt consolidation programs who fail to adhere to the terms of their debt management plan (DMP) may forfeit the benefits of debt relief and revert to the terms of their original creditor agreements. Read and understand all program materials prior to enrollment. Please contact a debt relief specialist for complete program details.
Your debt relief analysis and savings estimate is free, will not affect your credit, and you are under no obligation to enroll in, or purchase, any product or service.
