When a person approaches a bank to get a credit card, they are excited to get the card and easily get into credit card debt. Cardholders’ sometimes do not even read the terms and conditions or fee charges. It is very important to understand how the credit card work so as to avoid the  credit card debt that can accumulate very quickly on credit cards.

Reasons why people get into credit card debt

credit card debt

Many people at one time or another get into credit card debt. There are many reasons why people get into credit card debt among them:  job redundancy, shopping sprees, illness in the family and unplanned spending due to peer pressure.

11 steps to get out of credit card debt

1. Consolidate thecredit card debt especially if you have more than one credit card. This makes it easier to pay off the debt.
2. Do not carry your card with you if it is to be used as an emergency card.
3. Do not continue to use the credit cards but use cash. If possible, cut up the credit cards to remove temptation. Cash is easier to monitor than when a credit card is used.
4. Pay off all the small credit card debt. This will consolidate more money to be paid off in higher amounts to credit card debts which are more.
5. Get a loan from your bank to pay off your credit card debt. It is cheaper to pay off the loan than credit card interest which is usually very high. Sometimes the credit cards companies assist the cardholder to repay the debt by rescheduling the debt. Rescheduled repayments sometimes attract less interest, but the card account has to be declared delinquent.
6. Avoid all unnecessary fees and charges levied on the credit cards. There may be fees for making late payments or paying less than the minimum required. These should be avoided since these fees and charges carry compounded interest
7. Make a payment plan for all your credit cards. When one card is fully paid, close the account. Do not use the money that was being paid to this card as extra spending funds but add it to pay off the next card.
8. The cardholder can consider getting a credit card that charges less than the card they have. This option may mean moving from one credit card Company to another to get out of credit card debit
9. One should consider getting out of credit card debit by getting a debit card. The debit card may be mapped to only one current account and no access to the savings. This helps the cardholder to save up the money in a separate bank account and this will be paid to the credit cards.
10. Make payments that are more than the minimum requirement from the card company. Avoid making just the minimum payments and reduce the interest charges.
11. Make payments the day after the statement has closed. For example, if the statement closes on the10th monthly, make payments as soon after this date as possible. This reduces the daily interest charged on the amounts that are outstanding in the account.

Though it seems like the credit card debt will never end, the cardholder with a credit card debt must exercise patience and never miss a payment.