Thursday, October 30, 2008

Credit Card Counseling Can Help You Eliminate Your Debts

By William Blake

Credit card debt counseling aims to provide a realistic way of dealing with debt that has a nasty way of creeping on most credit card holders. The high interest rates and late fee penalties charged by credit companies makes this debt doubly difficult to manage.

Paying your credit card bills on a weekly, not monthly, basis is an excellent way to control your credit card debt. Not only will this save you a lot of money on interest, which accrues on an hourly basis, but it will also be much easier mentally to pay your bills. It seems much less daunting to pay what you owe weekly instead of monthly as the sum of money will be much less.

The credit card owner can also seek advice from the Consumer Counseling Center of America. This self-governing, non-profit organization aids people in serious financial trouble by providing them access to credit counselors. These counselors review the debt load and prepare an action plan. They also get in touch with the creditors to negotiate the interest rates and monthly payments.

In addition, the CCCA offers other useful services such as bringing past due accounts up to date, stopping creditor harassment, keeping payments current and settling seriously overdue accounts.

You must understand, though, that such counseling centers are limited as to the help that they can provide. It is up to you personally to quit spending large amounts of money on your credit cards. Until you can control your spending nobody can help you to reduce your outstanding credit card debt. It is always recommended to eliminate all but one of your cards. This card should be the one with the lowest limit and interest rate and should be reserved only for extremely critical situations.

It is always a good idea, when possible, to move all of your credit card debt to one company, preferably the one with the lowest interest rate. Be on the lookout for offers of 0% interest balance transfers. They will help you to reduce interest costs.

If a company promises to get rid of all of your debt for a very small charge, be aware. Many people have been ripped off by such people who claim that they can help you solve your credit problems. Do a careful investigation of any debt counselor before using their services.

Ultimately, it is the individual alone who is best suited to reduce credit card debts. Make sure that you put together a sensible budget and stick to a defined spending pattern, and you will not have to worry about credit card or any other debt, and can live a carefree, debt-free life! - 15465

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