Zen Finance Advice

Welcome back!

Does your heart sink every time you see that infamous envelope pop through your letterbox warning you of yet another month of scraping together the pennies just to pay the monthly interest on your credit card? Well you’re not alone. It seems according to a recent piece from the BBC that the government is also worried at the exorbitant interest rates that seem to be piling up our Credit Card Debt.

Credit card businesses are capitalising on our debt making certain that we always need them. How? Well, by charging unnecessary interest rates we remain in debt for longer. The longer we are in debt the more possibility of needing more borrowed funds to aid us along what we think is the road of Debt Management. But are we kidding ourselves? Logic dictates the more we borrow the more we owe. But so many of us are stuck in that vicious cycle of borrowing more and having less disposable income as a result that it seems there is no way out.
However as we are now paying the highest interest rates in 12 years, shouldn’t we be taking back the control that is properly ours?

How do we escape? Well in an ideal world we wouldn’t allow ourselves to be enticed in by the nice shiny offers and promises of a enhanced life if we just use that credit card. Or become so disorganised that we acquire poor Debt Management skills in the first place. But, the demands we all face on a daily basis, whether it’s through overindulging, bad budgeting or urgent obligation, the reality is that it has become all too easy to get dragged in. Credit cards do have their place and if used rationally they can work to our gain and NOT the credit card companies. Clearing them each month for instance means there is no interest and therefore no profit for the credit card company.

Though once we have become entangled it can all too easily become a nightmare of rising debt that has a negative effect on all aspects of our lives.

The only way we can tackle this is by drawing in that belt, looking at our budget and taking action. We can either bury our heads pretending the debt doesn’t exist, all the while it increases ever bigger, or we can face it head on and deal with the alternatives.

Although it’s painful to look at the state of our finances, it is an awesome relief once you’ve sat down and looked at the figures and done something positive towards improving your Credit Card Debt. Whether we go down the Debt Consolidation route or simply keep track of what we’re spending and maybe wasting our money on, it goes a long way to reclaim that control and escape the clutches of those credit cards!
There are no miracle cures but through seizing control and looking at options to help us along the way, we can escape!

Generally you will find that there is more credit card debt help available than is actually needed. Just flip through the newspaper and you would be surprised by the number of advertisements related to credit card debt help. Every now and then, there are articles on credit card debt and credit card debt help. Television channels are full of ads related to credit card debt help. There are websites and magazines that are dedicated to credit card debt help. You also hear about the topic of ‘credit card debt help’ being discussed in parliament.

There seem to be policies and laws being formed for credit card debt help. All kinds of suggestions seem to be floating for credit card debt help. Everyone, even some of your friends, have a piece of advice related to credit card debt help. All banks seem to offer credit card debt help in term of various loan types (generally short term loans) at low rates.

So, credit card debt help is readily available and in fact even unwanted credit card debt help or advice will flow into your ears. However, not every one offering credit card debt help is proficient enough to be able to provide proper credit card debt help that will suit you. So you do need to understand some basics about credit cards and credit card debt, before you actually go looking for credit card debt help or before you start helping yourself out with your credit card debt.

You should try and understand how the credit card suppliers bill you, how the interest is calculated on your credit card balance and how your credit card debt grows. Understanding all about APR, goes without saying. Even if you think that you went through all this stuff at the time of choosing your credit card, you should revisit these concepts to make sure that you still know them.

If you decide against going for professional credit card debt help, you will need to understand these concepts in even more detail. All these concepts will become handy when you are comparing various balance transfer offers (for example). Moreover, the knowledge of these concepts will also be helpful in making the discussions with credit counsellor more fruitful.

So credit card debt help really starts with developing a better understanding of credit cards and other concepts related to credit cards (irrespective of whether you go for external credit card debt help or not).