Getting Yourself Out Of Credit Card Debt

I've never really been irresponsible with money, but it's so easy to get in trouble with credit cards. I knew it was time to get my finances in order the minute I got my first call from a collection agency telling me I was in delinquency. So I looked on the web for more info to find ways to fix my problem and I found some methods on how to handle the situation.

I got a hold of all of my statements to take a look at my interest rates. I realized that I hadn't been paying attention and my rates were sky-high, practically 30% in most cases. This was totally out of control. I realized a new dining room furniture set I'd just bought at a bargain was going to cost a whole lot more than the price I paid in the store. I had about six credit cards going, with combined debt of nearly $15,000.

My reading lead me to destroy all of my cards. I grabbed a pair of tough scissors and went to town, cutting those things up into the smallest shreds. I had a lot of fun with this, cutting them this way and that, so they ended up all over the place. They ended up sucked up into my dyson upright vacuum cleaner. Putting the vacuum away, I felt totally liberated.

Next I organized my debts in order of which had the highest balance. The ones with the highest balance were to paid off first, and you pay just the minimum on the rest. This is what experts call the 'Snowball' approach to getting rid of debt. In my first payment, I wiped out one card and paid the minimum on the rest. The second month, I put a nice dent in my Mastercard bill and it went on like this for about three years. By the end of year three I had only two cards left and only about $4000 left to pay.

Next I phoned my remaining creditors and told them I was insisting they lower my credit rating. I told them if they didn't, I'd move the balance to another card. After being transferred to different agents, both card issuers agreed, and I managed to get both APR's down to only 8.9%! All I had to do was ask. This made paying the two cards off even easier since I wasn't adding a big chunk of finance fees each month.

Now I've learned to spend much more wisely. If I have to pay credit, I tell myself I don't need it. I still keep a couple of cards open for emergency use, but it's not like before when I'd just use a card to buy lunch.

The feeling you get in managing your debt is amazing. Knowing I'll never get calls again from debt collectors and collection agencies means I can sleep soundly every single night on my full size loft bed.

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