Credit card debt advice is becoming increasingly sought after due to a number of factors. The availability of credit cards, a buy now pay later attitude and rising living costs have all played their part in unmanageable levels of debt.
n to their growing financial difficulties.
Here are some general tips regarding credit card debt:
* Destroy your cards – If your level of credit card debt is already causing you problems and you're struggling to just pay off the interest then the best thing you can do is to destroy your credit cards and make sure you dispose of them securely. This may be a hard thing to do if you're relying on them to help pay bills every month but then you need to prioritise.
* Prioritise your debts – When you're living with debt and have creditors calling and writing to you to chase for money then it's easy to lose focus. If you have a mortgage to pay then that should always be your number one priority as it's a loan secured against your home. Credit card debts are unsecured and while they still need to be paid off, they don't come with the same harsh consequences of defaulting on your mortgage payments.
* Consolidation – If you have a number of credit cards with varying interest rates that are hard to keep up with then you may be eligible for a debt consolidation loan. This allows you to consolidate all of your existing unsecured debt into one loan that's usually secured against your property. The main advantages of this are that you stop the hassle from creditors overnight and also benefit from a lower interest rate on the debt you have, making the monthly repayments more manageable.
* Balance transfers – There was a time when you could 'rate hop' from one credit card to another for free every 6 months or so to take advantage of great introductory offers for balance transfers. While many lenders still offer these deals, they usually come with a balance transfer fee now which is a set percentage of the amount you're switching. Depending on the APR of your existing card or cards , transferring the balance(s) could still save you money on monthly interest repayments.
Debt advice is a broad term but making sure it's relevant and specific to your needs is the key to taking control of your finances and your life.
About the author
Steve Lawton is Marketing Manager for Accuma Group Plc. Steve manages a number of debt management and debt advice related websites including www.debtsolver.co.uk and www.debt1.co.uk
