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Credit card debt

Hi! I have got myself into a bit of trouble with credit cards, and seem to be juggling one to pay off the other. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can do? I want to close them down to remove the temptation to use them, but can't until I pay them off! Any suggestions would be appreciated!! :)

Tags: cards, credit, debt

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Permalink Reply by Tony Aloisi on June 2, 2008 at 16:01

Hi Tina,

It doesn't have to be quite as extreme as you imagine, and I don't think Jacq means for it to be. What (I think) he is getting at is that some sort of sustained discipline is required, and this very discipline will actually be a reward in itself, as you will not only have your finances under control and be less "money-stressed", you will also be proud of what you have achieved.
TA

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Permalink Reply by jacquesk on June 2, 2008 at 16:39

Hi Folks
Tony has summed up in his posts everything I am trying to say.

it is worth knowing also that if you do exert discipline a lot of this stuff becomes easier because it becomes habitual.

I reckon Webjet is the kind of thing where you or someone you know gets bitten once. Pity it were me!

I hope some of this is of some use to Miffy.

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Permalink Reply by Kylie on June 19, 2008 at 11:57

Hi Miffy,

One tip I heard was as soon as you pay $100 off you credit card, ring the bank and reduce your limit by $100 so you can't spend it again!

Me personally, I use my card for everything but I earmark the money to be repaid and I repay the amount in full at the end of each month, as I learnt the hard way previously.

I like having a credit card incase of an emergency. Big tip, don't accept the automatic increases that the issuer may offer you! I got my limit up to $30,000 at one stage, then I took a cash advance to invest in shares and you can guess the rest...

Good Luck

Kylie

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Permalink Reply by Miffy on June 19, 2008 at 12:07

Ouch, that hurts! Cash advances on credit cards should be banned, as should automatic increases in your credit limit. All ploys by the bank to get us racking up our credit limits so we pay more in interest. They don't make any money if we pay them off now, do they...

I'm going to take up your tip Kylie - many thanks for the advice. I'll also make sure I never take a cash advance to invest in shares as well!!!

Miffy

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Permalink Reply by JG on June 19, 2008 at 12:16

If you're using one card to pay another then it's time to re-finance.

Get down to the bank and get a personal loan to repay the cards, then cut them up.

The payments on the loan will be substantially less than what you're racking up on the cards.

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