One way to work on eliminating your credit card debt of course is to do as I suggested last time and stop spending on your credit cards cold turkey. That's right, tear them up or put them away and don't carry them with you. Credit cards make it so easy to spend money without thinking about whether the money is really there or not. It can be awfully tempting to look at an $800 product and think that even though the money is not there now, you can have it paid off in just four months.
Well, I have a suggestion for you. If it's something that you need or want that bad, then set aside $200 a month into a special savings account (or even a sock!) and go pay cash when the time comes. We have become very used to the idea of borrowing from tomorrow so we can finance today that waiting four months to buy something REALLY seems like a revolutionary concept doesn't it? But, that's the kind of change of thinking you need to acquire to really get rid of your credit card debt.
Cash and Check purchases are really all you should let yourself make as you try to climb out of debt. This way, you know exactly how much you have to spend and you know you aren't going to go over budget. So, for groceries go to the store with $80 cash in your pocket AND a LIST of what you NEED. Odds are if you are running a bit higher than $80 you'll put some things back, maybe compare prices with the generic brands and find a way to come in at $80. But if you go with a credit card as your planned payment, then your bill is what it is and you pay that amount $120 - wow did I really get that much? I will just about guarantee that if you picked two people at random to go through a grocery and one had a credit card to pay with and the other had cash, the person with cash would average out to spend less.
Why do you think so many companies prefer consumers to use credit cards? Because studies show that they spend more on average when they use credit as opposed to cash. Checks can be a bit tricker when you use that same checking account for all your groceries, your bill paying and what not. It's easy to see the balance there and know that you have a bit of a cushion and work your way down to zero. I think one of the best choices we've made in our efforts to get out of credit card debt has been to set aside, with each deposit a certain amount of money into other accounts, savings, money market, whatever accounts you have available. We've also made a practice of adding somewhat of a cushion to our checking account. An extra couple hundred dollars that isn't reflected in our running balance, but is there "just in case" we get to the due date for xyz bill and had already been to the grocery. We haven't used this safety net, instead treating that "new zero" as our limit. This has taken a good deal of stress out of our situation though.
When you go out to eat, use cash. When you shop for clothes, use cash. When you go grocery shopping, use cash. Now, I know there are those times where cash or check is not an option. I do work online with businesses that don't accept cash directly instead preferring credit card, or paypal. If paypal is an option, USE it. No, I don't mean some paypal credit card. Actually have a balance of dollars in your paypal account and you can use that directly for online purchases. Of course, sometimes you just HAVE to use a credit card for a purchase. When you do, first set aside the cash to pay off the amount before you purchase the item. Go ahead and earmark some actual cash so that either when the statement comes (or once the credit transaction clears) you can send your payment to the card company and not pay any interest on the item. I mentioned paying once the credit transaction clears. Most credit card companies will allow online payments, in many cases several a month. So, go ahead and get set up to pay from your checking account directly to the card and when you have to make a purchase on the plastic, go ahead and get ready to make a payment for the same amount when it clears.
The bottom line to this is to be FIRM with yourself and don't sucker yourself in to, "just this once" thinking. Hold the line, take control and start working to eliminate your credit card debt TODAY!
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