In Credit Card debt? How you got into credit card trouble? - By: Stu Lieberman

10 Ways to Get in Trouble with Credit Cards

1 Choose a card with a fee, high interest rates and poor customer service.

Everybody uses credit differently. Some people use credit and pay their balances off in full every month. However, for those of you who carry over a monthly balance, it would be in your best interest to find a card with a low annual percentage rate and no annual fee. The new pair of jeans that you bought on sale for $60.00 with your credit card could turn into $80.00 pretty quickly. Interest and finance charges can be killers so make sure that you are aware of what you are getting yourself into before you sign up for a credit card.

2 Make your payments a day late.

Did you know that the fastest way to lower your credit score is to make late payments on your credit accounts? It is extremely important to pay your bills on time. Late payments can be as high as $39.00 and you would be surprised how quickly they can add up. Come up with a system to ensure that you get your payments out ahead of time.

3 Pay only the minimum.

Consumers often mistake that paying the minimum is acceptable. For anyone who has never sat down and done the math, here is an example: a credit card balance of $5,000 at 15 percent APR with a minimum payment of $100 would take more than 21 years to pay off! That isn’t even the worst of it that $5,000 just turned into almost $10,000! Try to send in as much as you can.

4 Accumulate all the cards you can.

The more credit cards that you have, the harder it is to keep up with making payments. Department store cards and gas cards are convenient, but have you looked at the APR’s? It’s robbery! All you really need is one or two bank cards such as a Visa or American Express. These types of cards are accepted pretty much everywhere and offer better APR’s. So when you get that new credit card offer in the mail, do yourself a favor and shred it.

5 Spend today and worry about how to pay for it another time.

The convenience of having a credit card is being able to purchase things that you don’t have the cash for. In other words, being able to buy something that you can’t afford. Buying now and paying later means trouble if you don’t have the means to pay it back within your billing cycle. Be aware of the temptations of credit and ask yourself how long it will take you to pay off the purchase. To avoid this kind of impulse buying, remind yourself that you will have to work X number of weeks to pay for the item. That may make you think twice about purchasing that diamond bracelet that you just had to have!

6 Use credit as an additional source of income.

Don’t buy a $300 pair of new shoes when you can only afford a pair for $150. Having credit is not the same as having more income! People often make the mistake of saying that they have thousands of dollars to spend when in reality they only have a couple hundred dollars in their wallets. Remember to live within your means.

7 Share it with a friend.

Keep in mind that there is probably a reason why this friend of yours doesn’t have a credit card. I hate to point out the obvious, but the reason is probably negative. Do yourself a favor and keep your credit card in your wallet for your use only.

8 Use cash advances from one card to pay another.

Believe it or not, people still do this type of thing. Please think about this example for a minute: John owes Sally $10.00 so John borrows the $10.00 from Paul to pay back Sally. John still owes the money, now instead to someone else! Getting a cash advance to pay another creditor is extremely foolish. You still owe the money and then on top of that, you will probably end up paying a cash advance fee! Lesson learned: use your own cash to pay your creditors, not someone else’s. If you can’t pay your debt, this should be a big hint that you are in serious debt trouble and should look into getting help.

9 Hide debt from your spouse.

If you have to hide something, chances are that it is a bad secret. The very act of hiding something says that you have made a mistake and you are trying to cover up for it. Did you know that money is one of the top five reasons that couples argue about? If you are hiding a credit card balance from your significant other, fess up and discuss how you will handle paying it back.

10 Ignore your problem.

Having the belief that your debt will go away on its own is unrealistic. The truth is that it will only get worse the longer you put it off. The end result is destroyed credit. Credit counseling companies are available to help you set up a budget and manage your debt. Credit problems do not go away on their own, you need to take control. The next time that bill collector calls you, understand that they are not the ones with the problem, you are!

About the Author

Been in the Credit Card Debt business for over 14 yrs. Writing articles aboutcredit card debt and how to help get out. Credi

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