Yes, I'm talking about debt. Specifically, debt in the form of a slim, pretty colored plastic card. According to RAM research, a credit card tracker, Americans charged up more than $400 billion last year on their cards. Now don't get me wrong, our economy runs on just these sorts of transactions, and that's good and fine, but why do so many people keep huge balances - balances that had an extra $50 billion dollars in finance charges added to them in the last year alone. Eeek! You can buy several small countries for that. Or a Fortune 50 company, with change to spare.
Currently, there are well over one billion cards in circulation - several for every man, woman, child in the U.S. The average balance? $5,800 - carried from month to month, paying an average of 18.3% interest. Ouch! That's almost $1000 a year that you'll never see. Gone. Vanished.
The big boys in banking are counting on you not to do the math. To be blind to the truth. Why work only to pay off your credit cards? There are ways out of this cycle, and places to turn for help. Take control back! Get smart to the scam! Here's a couple of great places to start:
http:\\www.consumercredit.com - American Consumer Credit Counseling Service - this can give you a start on figuring out what your game plan for getting debt-free is.
http:\\www.bbb.org - the Better Business Bureau - Yes, getting out of debt is almost as big a business as getting in debt is. A credit counseling service can save you or sink you. Protect yourself. Check them out first.
Have you been in debt and managed to pull yourself up from under your debt? Or are you looking for more feedback on specific ways to help you get out of debt? I'd love to hear from you! Write me at mailto:cara410@suite101.com!
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