As of May 2002, consumers had about $712.2 billion outstanding in revolving credit, up about 6.8% from the previous year. Some of this credit is paid off each month; however, about 60% of U.S. households revolve some portion of their credit card balances. For those that revolve, the Federal Reserve Board reported that their balances were $4,100 in 1998. Other estimates show credit card balances as high as $8,000 in 2000 (McGinn et al. 2001). One out of five families with incomes under $50,000 spend at least 40% of after-tax income on debt servicing (Kennickell, Starr-McCluer, and Surette 2000). Needless to say, money spent on credit card debt is money that cannot go toward retirement savings. (more…)

If your debt problem is not totally out of control, why not handle it yourself? It never hurts to ask lenders to lower your interest rates. Interest rates typically are not reported to credit bureaus. Some lenders may lower the rate to keep your business.

Do you want to be debt free? Do you want to be to travel the country and around the world without having to pay the bills? (more…)

Remove every credit card from your wallet, including gasoline cards. There’s absolutely no reason you need to carry them around. The only things they do is make it easier for you to ignore prices and buy things you don’t need and can’t afford.

Get a pay-as-you-go charge card, like American Express, if you don’t already have one. Keep that with you in case of emergencies. Since you have to pay the entire bill when it arrives at the end of the month, you’ll soon be cured of any mistaken belief it’s just like a credit card. Start paying cash for your gasoline and you’ll soon discover which station has the lowest prices. (more…)

Too often people talk about their feeling that their credit score has been noticed and market by credit bureaus. This is not true that credit bureau doesn’t give them low credit score just to make their life more difficult. Credit bureau is not biased to certain kind of people. (more…)

Unfortunately, too many American consumers find themselves buried under a mountain of credit card debt. Besides the obvious financial strain caused by this debt, credit card debt can leave a family with incredible amounts of stress and even ruin physical health. While every situation has its own challenges, there are some general principles you can follow to improve your finances and get out of debt. (more…)