So I left the house this morning with my daughter and dropped her off to school. As I was walking to the bus stop I realized something was different. I didn’t have my watch on. I must have forgotten it in the craziness that is our morning routine (my wife and I getting ready for work then getting the kids ready).
Understand I almost always wear a watch. I didn’t notice it missing because I checked for the time. I noticed it missing because I felt the weight of the watch missing from my wrist. At first I was a little panicky since I always have it, how would I know the time, but then I felt something different. I was no longer a slave to this instrument that demanded my attention. I felt lighter. I was free!
What’s your point FFB?!? 
I thought of another time I felt the same way, when a weight was lifted from me. Know when that was? When I finally finished paying off my credit card debt. I had been thousands of dollars in credit card debt. I was doing well getting rid of the debt slowly but it always hung over me, weighing me down. I kept thinking of how I was paying off “stuff” I accumulated. It was all baggage on my psyche. The money I was paying could have gone to much better things like saving. It was so refreshing when I finally paid off my final bill and my credit card accounts were now zero! I was free from debt and it felt sooo good.
Do you have credit card debt? Is it a monkey on your back? Here’s the big question – What are you doing about it?
Here are some tips to help get you out of credit card debt:
- Make sure you always pay at least the minimum due. Don’t get charged for paying less. Those charges will get charged interest too!
- Make sure you pay on time! You can easily get charged $35 for a late fee and the credit card company nay raise your interest rates.
- If you’re having trouble with the due date try calling the card company to have the date it changed.
- Find the card with the highest rate. Take any extra money you can to add to the minimum payment on that card while paying the minimum on the others. Once that card is paid off take the amount you paid on the first and add it to the next highest rate card. Keep doing this until all of your cards are paid. Then take the amount you were paying and pay that into a savings account.
- If you are responsible with keeping up on your payments you can try transferring your debt from a high interest card to one with lower interest. As you get better with your debt you may even find offers for 0% cards sent to you. Just make sure you understand the terms.
- Stop using your credit card. Buy only what you can afford. It’s very difficult to get rid of credit card debt when you are still adding charges.
If you are struggling with credit card debt (or any debt for that matter) start doing something about it today! You’ll feel much better when it’s off your back.
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photo by lightmatter
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
The sooner the better! <– Oh how true this statement is!!!
I had a lot of debt after college…so much so that I felt I was drowning in it. It didn’t begin to feel better until I started paying off whole accounts. Only then did I begin to rest easy.
I’m not saying that you have to pay off whole accounts, just that any sort of action is a positive step. As always, the sooner the better.
@ Ricardo – I felt the same way. I would make just the minimum and go about my business but in the back of my head I knew it was bad. Once I started paying more I felt I had some control and started feeling better about it. I had a long way to go but it was a positive step in the right direction!
It really does set you free when you get rid of that debt. When I paid my credit card debt off after college, I was so incredibly relieved. My boyfriend, who is still in school, is heavily burdened by his credit card debt, and I can tell it literally just weighs him down. I can’t wait until he is able to pay it off — it’s just one more thing to worry about.
@ Emily – Glad to hear you were able to get rid of your debt! When I finished paying off mine I was able to look at my bank account and see that the money there actually belonged to me and not to the CC companies.
What a great list of tips.
I’m linking to this in my next round of link love
@ Fabulously Broke – Looking forward to it. Make sure to let me know!
I had that same feeling when I paid off some credit card debt right out of college. I was late on one payment to my chase card and my rate went up from a 0% to 17%. I was looking at my payments and wondering why I’d make a $100 payment and only half of it was going to the principle. It was a struggle to pay it off and I had to tighten up my spending habits. But it felt good not to be throwing good money at bad anymore. People need to always take a detailed look at their statements each month to make sure they aren’t paying each month towards nothing. Good article and image as well.
Probably the best advice for those who are trying to pay off their credit card debt is to stop using credit cards all together. However, do not close the account because that might negatively affect your credit score. Simply cut the cards and leave only one for emergencies. This had helped me in my journey to pay off credit card debt because it has stopped me from incurring in additional debt.
Great post. Credit card is the quickest way to eat up your monthly income. Even if you’re making $20,000 a month, if 70% is going to credit card debt, you might find yourself feeling poor instead of rich.
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i made a budget limit that i can use in my credit card. and i stick to it. So,it won’t make me being trapped in credit card debt
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