Though many people say that credit cards are a bane and should not be used, in this day and age, it is difficult to live without one. Credit cards have become an integral part of our lives, we need it to make online purchases (you can use debit cards and net banking too but credit cards are deemed safer by many when you make online purchases), we need it when we buy tickets and most importantly we need it when we run out of cash.
A credit card can, in fact, be good for you provided you use it diligently and make your payments on time. The biggest problem with credit cards is that the rate of interest is very high. If you do not make payments on time, the interest will keep on adding to the principal amount and you will need to pay a lot. It will harm your credit score too. If you think that making minimum payments is enough, you are wrong because the interest would keep adding. Ideally, you get time to repay, it is around 20-25 days from the time your bill is generated. Within this period if you make the full repayment you will not pay any interest or just very little interest depending on the card you are holding. Considering you get to pay after 25 days it is a good deal. People get into credit card debt only when they do not make payments on time. If you have credit card debt, the following ways will help you get out of it.
1) If you have credit card debt, you should first get a list of all the debts you owe. Look at the interest rates of each. Calculate by using a credit card payments calculator. These are found online, you can easily calculate using them. Start by paying of the one with the highest interest rate while paying the minimum payment for the rest. By continuously doing this, you will find that in time all your debts have been taken care of.
2) If you have some savings, do not let it just be there for a rainy day. If you have credit card debt, it means the rainy day has arrived. It is better to be debt free, rather than having some savings. Use the savings to reduce or completely become debt free. You can always save the money which you would have paid as interest every month. Once you are debt free and inclined to save, over time you will find that you have a lot of money with you.
3) Reduce your expenses. Take a pen and paper and sit down and write down your expenses. Once you have put everything in black and white you will know the unnecessary expenses. Do not reduce on the necessities but wherever possible reduce the expenses which are deemed unnecessary. Also if you get money as gifts or if you win a sweepstake etc., use that money to reduce debt rather than spending on something.
These tips will surely help you reduce credit card debt.