Credit Repair Come January
Last Updated on Thursday, 16 April 2009 11:02 Written by Brett Bruce Thursday, 22 May 2008 20:48
There’s nothing sadder than to face the credit card bills that come in the month of January. They’re usually high and are something most of us would like to avoid. There’s no doubt that you need to pay them off, but how?
What will you do to keep the finance charges affordable? Paying the monthly minimum isn’t likely to help your credit situation at all. If you find yourself in debt largely because of the holiday season, then you need some help to dig yourself out now, rather than waiting all year to pay it off in small increments.
Resolve to Make Good Credit Decisions
The first important thing that you need to do is to resolve to yourself that you’ll no longer make the wrong decisions when it comes to credit cards. Using credit is only okay when you can pay it off completely within one to two months.
Beyond that, it can get overly costly and make each purchase you’ve made seem like one that broke the bank. Resolve to make better credit choices the next holiday season.
Also, realize that you don’t need to harm your credit any more by using credit cards more so during the next few months. Just because you’ve paid it down doesn’t mean that you have to use the available credit again.
Tips for Smart Credit Decisions
Now, how will you pay down all of the funds that you currently owe on those credit cards? To improve your credit and keep your credit score high, use these tips to help you make the right decisions.
• First off, determine which credit card has the highest interest rate on it and pay it down the most, the fastest. It’s the one costing you more.
• Cut down on any extra expenses that you can. Skip the coffee shop this week (one coffee a day for five days a week at $5 each is $100 a month that can go to credit card bills.)
• Make your payments on time. Having high credit card balances isn’t necessarily that bad, but what is bad is that when you begin missing payments or paying only minimums and you go over that credit limit. Make payments on time, even more than once per month if possible, to pay down your credit balance.
• Pay as much as you can per month on your balances. Even a few extra dollars helps lower the costs that you face on that bill.
• Take your credit cards, place them into a container of water and freeze them – or put them in a save deposit box at your bank. If you really need them, you can get to them. But, it’s a lot of work to make frivolous decisions with credit if you can’t instantly get to it. Stop making spontaneous decisions with credit and you’ll save considerably.
There are plenty of ways that you can find to repair your credit after a crazy holiday spending spree. If you don’t know what your credit score is, this is a great place to start.
Make it your goal for the New Year to ensure that you pay off your credit cards. This is a debt that just doesn’t have to be there. You can save yourself a lot of money and even have more to spend, if you don’t use credit cards as much as you have been in the past. A bit of time and patience, and a whole lot of hard work will help you save your money instead of having to worry about credit card payments.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|