Road Signs for self help and personal development

Dealing with Credit Card Debt

Our culture of consumerism fueled credit card debt - we loaded up the credit cards and thought nothing of it. 

We could not see that we were leveraging our futures and willingly selling ourselves into debt slavery for instant gratification.

We find ourselves going off to jobs whether we love them or not because we have to service our debt - there is the mortgage payment and car payment that we don't even think of as debt they are so much a part of our lifestyle.

And then there are our credit cards... 

Dealing with Debt - read more here:

 

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Why pay so much more with a credit card?

Most of us don't learn about credit and debt, or personal finance in school or in our home life.  We don't have the knowledge to make intelligent, informed decisions.

Sadly, we think in terms of being able to make the minimum payment - the minimum payment the credit card company asks for covers little more than the finance charges and interest. Only a small amount goes to the balance.

We are forever in debt, often for luxuries and impulse purchases that have been consumed and forgotten long before they are paid for.

But the debt is still there, accruing interest and finance charges at an alarming rate. And because we can still make the minimum payment, we are not alarmed.

ALARM: What happens when something changes and the debt becomes a REAL PROBLEM?

Some of us are just treading water on any given day between housing, insurance, living expenses. Suddenly an unexpected life change knocks us off our feet.

If we have taken on credit card debt, in addition to financing a car, or buying a house, we can easily be knocked off our feet when something comes along - like divorce, illness, loss of a job. These things happen to just about every one at one point or another.

But, what then? If we are living paycheck to paycheck and the paycheck stops, we are screwed.

My Best Advice: Step Away from the Credit Card!

Focus on your Dreams, your Goals
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Get in touch with your dreams, your goals, your vision of what you want your life to be like.

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Heal your issues of self-worth and self-love... if you take care of yourself, you will not burden yourself with credit card debt that can derail your dreams.

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Pay off your credit card debt now and don't add to it unless you have an emergency.

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Credit card companies are not the enemy - we have to simply make intelligent, informed choices.  Are you really willing to keep carrying debt? 

Prosperity is Freedom - freedom from fear, freedom from debt, and freedom from having to do any thing you do not want to do because you have to service a debt.  Put an end to DEBT SLAVERY. 

 
National Council on Economic Education (NCEE)
useful information about personal finance, avoiding debt, and responsible use of credit.
http://www.ncee.net/
 

LIFE IS WHAT YOU CHOOSE FOR IT TO BE - DON'T SETTLE FOR DEBT SLAVERY
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Be clear about what you want in your life. 

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Set your goals.

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Have a clear vision about the kind of life that you want.

Knowing the kind of life that you want to live will help you to keep focused. Then it is easier to resist the constant bombardment of commercials and other brainwashing about the lifestyle that marketers are trying to sell you.  You will be less likely to "impulse buy." 

Money is our friend, our servant, a unit of energy to be used like the food we eat to build our happiness.  We want to use this energy like we use food to be healthy, happy, satisfied - to lead "full-filled" lives. 

Carrying debt limits us in being, doing, and having what we want.

Choose freedom.  Enjoy your life Now!

 

In Ask and it is Given the book from Esther and Jerry Hicks on the Teachings of Abraham, Abraham offers a process for aligning our energy with abundance, and releasing and paying off debt:

Process #19: Releasing Resistance to Become Free of Debt.  This is a game of prioritizing debts and then paying them off one by one, while basking in the freedom and pure positive energy. 

Learn More or buy the book at Amazon.com: click here
 

Use credit cards responsibly. When you get the card you never anticipate the divorce, illness, or unemployment that will suddenly make it difficult to make the payments. Keep only one card and use it cautiously.
Credit cards are a wonderful resource when we need them. They can see us through tough times. Just be sure to keep them paid up and current in the good times. 

The Art of Abundance - Paula Langguth Ryan

Paula is the best selling author of Bounce Back From Bankruptcy and other resources for dealing with finances. She is a personal finance coach, author and public speaker and her web site is loaded with free information and a variety of tools such as:
21 Days to a More Abundant Life
Break the Debt Cycle For Good
How to Manifest the Right and Perfect Job
- teleclasses
How to Manifest a Debt Free and Prosperous Life
- teleclasses
These are tools you can use to create the life you want to live, with a good relationship to your finances, money, income, and debt.

Dealing with Debt:

1. Carry only one or two major credit cards, and avoid using the full available credit line. Remember that credit card purchases are more expensive than cash or check purchases once interest and other fees are included. Use credit cards sparingly and wisely. [Remember, you promised yourself it was only for emergencies? Keep to that.]

2. Pay off all balances in full every billing period, or pay as large a portion of the remaining balance as possible, making the largest payments toward the card with the highest interest rate. Always pay more than the minimum, if possible!  

Read more about dealing with debt. 

 

(For a comprehensive guide to low-interest credit cards, no-fee credit cards, and secured credit cards)

Federal Trade Commission: Publications Division
202-326-2222, www.ftc.gov
(Ask for a copy of the brochure “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.”)

National Foundation for Consumer Credit Counseling
800-388-2227, www.nfcc.org

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The Choice is yours

Accident Ahead

Best Advice

FTC info

The Motley Fool

Inner Reasons

The Motley Fool

Another resource for information on credit cards and debt is the Motley Fool. Every one knows about the Motley Fool and investing advice. But they have gathered information on all sorts of financial matters.  

Motley Fool Credit Center: http://www.fool.com/ccc/debt/debt01.htm

Got Debt? Here's Help

Getting out of debt and staying out is simple: Spend less money than you make. So why is something so simple so hard to do?

By Dayana Yochim

If money problems are nipping at your heels, or if an overwhelming debt burden is pushing you to the edge of financial disaster, you've come to the right place. There are a lot of Fools rooting for you. The following resources are at your disposal:

bullet For a bird's-eye view of tackling debt, take just a minute to review the 60-Second Guide to Getting Out of Debt -- a CliffsNotes take on the task at hand.
bullet Roll up your shirtsleeves and get to work with The Motley Fool's How To Get Out of Debt Guide (online seminar). It's completely free. Gratis. No dinero needed. Be sure to download the workbook (also free) to help organize and track your progress. Did we mention the free part?
bullet There's no better community of Fools than the ones on the Consumer Credit/Credit Card discussion board. Check in. Say hello. Get input, advice, and support.
bullet And finally, click around the rest of the Motley Fool Credit Center for more tools, tips, and a few lame jokes.  (back to top)

 

 

Investigate Your Inner Reasons for getting over your Head in Debt

The Dynamics of Debting and the Shame it Creates by Joan Sotkin, www.prosperityplace.com

"...the majority of Americans are in debt. So is our country. Our entire economy is based on debt. I also know that many people suffer, as I did, from the pain that debting often creates. ... If you owe money, think about the feelings that it brings up for you. Rarely does debt create uplifting feelings of joy. Debt usually creates feelings of heaviness, darkness, fear, longing, sadness -- and shame. These are feelings you have buried inside of you that you are acting out through your debting." [Read the article, or download it free, at www.prosperityplace.com]

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Financial Independence

by Michael Angier

Financial independence, by its very definition, means to not be dependent on anyone or anything for our financial needs. That requires being free from debt.

Just imagine what it would be like not to owe any money? When asked what they would do if they won the lottery, people say they would pay off their debts.

We’d all like to be free from owing money. But something has happened to us over the past couple of generations—we’ve come to accept debt as just another part of modern life.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Read the full article at http://successnet.org/articles/angier-findependence.htm

 

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Please use anything you can from what I offer. If it is on this page, I found it useful. But that doesn't mean it will work for you. Any problems or complaints with any thing here will be between you and that company. I am not guaranteeing that it will work for you or be right for you. If you have questions, you can ask me.

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A personal web site by Sharon Walls – contact me at Sharon@swroadsigns.com

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