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how should you handle debt once it has gone into collections now not to give away the ending but i'm telling you right now that paying it is quite literally the very last thing that you should do when it comes to debt collectors hi i'm laurie ann co-founder of dow jane's and if you are dealing with the stress of having a debt collector chasing you for money don't worry i am going to tell you everything that you need to know what a debt collector cannot do what your rights are and how you should handle debt collectors if you want to learn more about how to save invest and make the most of your money be sure to subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss out on future videos [Music] now let's dive in what happens when your debt goes to collections well one of two things happens when a debt goes into collections either option one the creditor that you owe money to so say your credit card issuer or your mortgage lender when the lender thinks that you're behind on payments the creditor might use its own debt collectors to follow up and collect the debt from you or they may hire a debt collection agency or a law firm to take it on option number two is that a different company actually buys your debt from the original creditor and now they are trying to collect on the money that you owe in this case the original lender probably already received some sort of insurance money and sold your debt for pennies on the dollar now before i give you some tips for dealing with debt collectors i want to make sure you know what debt collectors can and cannot do and how to make sure that you are not being scammed and what your rights are when it comes to debt collections so the first thing i want you to know is that debt collectors are only allowed restricted contact they can only call you between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm and they're not allowed to call you at work so if you get a call outside of these hours then you might be dealing with a debt collection scam the second thing i want you to know is that you can request a callback number just like any other legitimate business a debt collection agency should be able to provide you with company information including a number to call them back when you get contacted by them write down as much information about the company as possible including its name and address this is important to see if they are legally operating in your state the third thing i want you to know is that debt collectors cannot lie or harass you or just generally be toxic people debt collectors cannot make you pay more than you owe or threaten you with a arrest jail time property liens or wage garnishment if you don't pay they do not have the power to do that so if they say otherwise hang up wage garnishment may be legal in your state but your debt collector will need to take you to court first and if a debt collector is posing as police or threatens to arrest you then there's a good chance this is a scam and you can report them to and the threat to the federal trade commission and the consumer financial protection bureau the last thing i want you to know about your rights is that you can stop a debt collector from contacting you under the fair debt collection practices act if you notify the collection agency in writing to stop communicating with you then they can only contact you again to advise you on one of two things one that they're going to stop trying to collect from you or two that they intend to take action against you such as filing a lawsuit and this law applies even if you do own the debt so you do not have to just surrender to the fact that you're going to be called repeatedly by debt collectors notify them in writing if you don't want to hear from them anymore now that you understand your rights uh and how to watch out for potential scams let's talk about how you should actually handle it when the debt collector starts ringing you up number one don't admit to the debt i know i might sound like a fat cat lawyer here but seriously just don't admit to the debt especially not on the first phone call some debts come with a statute of limitations meaning after a certain period of time collectors legally can't win a court order for repayment and so if you admit that the debt is yours you may actually reset the clock on that statute of limitations so don't confirm the debt especially on your first contact until you get more facts even if you know the debt is yours so point number two is you want to get the facts straight without admitting that the debt is yours get information on the debt itself ask who the original creditor was the original debt amount and how much is owed and the more details the debt collector can provide the better if the statute of limitations has expired the debt collector can no longer sue you to recoup the debt plus when your debt has been sold there's often misinformation about the debt itself or who owes it so you want to make sure that all of that is accurate point number three don't be emotionally manipulated a lot of people feel guilty about their debt and debt collectors prey on that emotion they create a sense of urgency that hits you right where you're sensitive we always tell people that they have to learn how to deal with the difference between money facts and money feelings so think about where your emotions and attitude towards debt and money have come from and then release yourself from any negative emotions that are holding you back if you find yourself on the phone with a diet collector don't let them make you feel bad okay and don't pay or promise payment or give any payment information at this time you're sensing a theme in this video like i said paying is literally the last thing that you're going to do you want to just ask for information on the debt and say that you'll be in touch later number four dispute any errors with the debt if you find any erroneous information with the claim dispute it mail a letter to the debt collector stating the amount that they're saying you owe is incorrect you should also ask for proof of the debt collector's claim that you owe money such as copy of a credit card bill and be sure to keep a copy of the letter yourself the consumer financial protection bureau offers a sample dispute letter on its website which i'll link to down below if you and the collector cannot settle the dispute you may want to bring in a third party arbitrator to weigh the evidence and if things get really hairy you may want to consider hiring an attorney make sure that you have records of everything you've been discussing with the collector in case it reaches this point it's always better to communicate via email or mail so you have a copy of your conversations in writing the fifth step you're going to decide if you want to pay off this debt or not this may sound a little odd we often feel like we have a moral obligation to pay our debts but the truth about how debt works is that the lender does take on a certain amount of risk when they lend out money this is part of why they charge interest it's to cover the cost of debts that have gone bad so you may have your own relationship to debt you may want to pay off this debt but it may actually not be in your best financial interest to do so when a debt goes into collections the main impact that it has on you is damage to your credit score and any debt that has already gone into collections has already done that damage and it's going to continue to have a negative impact on your credit score for about seven years until it falls off of your credit report now in some cases you may be able to negotiate the removal of this derogatory mark on your credit report as part of paying a settlement on the debt but if you have a debt that's gone into collections and it's close to being seven years old it will likely fall off your credit report soon and it may not be worth paying it's not going to improve your credit score at this point to clear it off because you've had that mark on your report for so long and if it's going to fall off and stop damaging your credit report you may be better off just waiting it out especially if you have any current debts that you're struggling with so i want you to focus first on maintaining good standing with the active debts that you have before paying off debts in collections number six negotiate the debt if you do decide to pay it at the end of the day whether it's a creditor or a collections agency reaching out to you all they want is some money and usually they paid a lot less for the debt than the amount that you actually owe on it so they might be willing to consider either lowering the debt so you can pay it all off in one lump sum or setting up a payment plan that you can reasonably manage make sure that you negotiate and always always always get any agreement that you come to in writing before you take the final step step 7 pay down the debt now at long last after you have done all of the previous steps it's finally time to pay up if you have decided to pay off this debt how you go about this will depend on what you worked out with the collector if you agreed to a lower lump sum then pony up the payment and move on with your life if you've set up a payment plan then make sure that you have that payment built into your monthly budget and that you're going to be able to meet it and if you need some help setting up a budget we have a video to help you out which i'll link to in the description below all right final thoughts i mean rarely should you just try to solve a problem by throwing money at it and when it comes to debt collections that should not be your first instinct i know this is stressful but take a deep breath and approach this problem with knowledge patience and strategy if you need some help getting out of debt be sure to check out our free training say goodbye to debt forever the principles that we teach in this class are specifically around credit card debt but really they apply to all kinds of debt all right hope to see you in that free training and good luck

As found on YouTube

[upbeat music] [Female voice] No one likes being in debt, but sometimes, well, you have to borrow money in order to invest in something big for your
future like your college degree or a house like Hector. Hector knew it was
important for him to make a plan to pay his existing debt in tandem with a good
spending plan that would help him avoid unnecessary debt. What is debt? Well
simply speaking, debt is an amount of money you borrow that must be paid back. Whether it's borrowed with a loan or through a credit card, it is money that
has to be paid back and usually with interest and fees. Hector learned that
there are two kinds of debt. There is bad debt like car loans and credit card debt
and good debt such as a student loan, a home mortgage, and business loans. An easy
way to think about this if that good debt is an investment in something that
will increase in value.

For example, student loans are an investment in
yourself, and if used wisely, can be a great tool to help pay for a
degree that will increase your earning potential and quality of life. When his
loans go into repayment, he will need to make his payments on time and in full to
ensure his loans remain in good standing. If he doesn't, there could be serious
consequences for his credit and overall financial well-being. Bad debt is when
you borrow money for something that does not increase in value. Unfortunately, you
may not always be able to avoid bad debt. For example, most people don't have the
resources to pay cash for a car. However, you should always be cautious about how
much bad debt you take on, and there are other ways that debt may get away from
you, resulting in debt distress. Hector had many of the signs of debt
distress like only making minimum payments, using his credit cards to pay
living expenses, and even paying his bills with his savings.
Fortunately for Hector, he discovered there is a smart way to borrow. While he
was a student, Hector created a spending plan to see
how much he needed to pay for his basic educational expenses.

Even though he was
offered more in loans, he only borrowed what he needed based on his spending
plan. Hector also made use of loan calculators
to determine how long until his loan is paid off, what would happen if he made
extra payments, and even how long it will take him to pay off his credit cards. One
way to pay his debts was to plan a month at a time and prioritize the debts. He
could do this by starting with either the debt that has the highest balance or
the highest interest rate. Instead, Hector chose to use the snowballing approach. He
listed his debts from smallest to largest and paying the minimum balance
on all of his debts while paying more on the smallest one. When he finished paying
off the smallest debt, he then put that payment amount towards the next smallest
debt until he paid that one off.

Then he repeated the process until they were gone.
Hector knew not to get impatient and go for the quick fix. He made sure to avoid
the temptation to use pawnshops, payday loans, or title loans to try to resolve
his debt. Instead, he made a plan. In addition to creating and using a
spending plan, he prioritized his debt repayments, prioritized his basic
expenses, and worked his debt repayment into cost on his spending plan. Hector also looked for assistance by
speaking to the folks from the Bears for Financial Success program on campus. Now,
Hector controls his money, his debt, and his future. And with a solid spending
plan and debt repayment plan in place, you too can become an empowered
financial decision maker like Hector..

As found on YouTube

More college students fin card debt. A report by AI percent of college studen cards. That's up 12% from based on a survey of more Forty percent of college debt of at least $1,000. more than $5,000. .

As found on YouTube

Hi! It's LaTisha from YoungFinances.com today
I'm going to talk a little bit more about how paid off my $22,000 worth of credit card
debt. I've had a couple of people ask me about the credit counseling service that I used
to help me pay off that debt and so I wanted to answer those questions today. The first question was how did I find them?
I know that there may be some credit counseling services out there that are not very reputable.
There are some that I've heard horror stories so I can completely understand this question.
A friend of mine introduced me to the service. They had great success with it and they
were able to pay off their debt within three years. The service that I used Is based out
of Atlanta. It's a consumer credit counseling service the name of the service is called
Clearpoint. That's the service I used to help me pay off all of my debt. Someone else asked
me, how much did it cost? I had to pay a monthly fee it was a small monthly fee.

I think one
month I paid $35 and then as my payments went down each month than I paid a smaller and smaller
monthly service fee to Clearpoint. So that actually goes hand-in-hand with the next question
which is what with my monthly bill? My monthly bill started off pretty high. I had a lot
of debt that I added to it. I had $26,000 of debt that I added to the debt management
plan. So what they do is they set you up with a debt management plan and help you to figure
out how to pay down your debt and pay off your debt within a certain timeframe whatever
timeframe that you want to do. Typically it's three years and I opted for three years. So what happened was when they were setting up my debt management plan I put all of my
debt on there like I said it was about $26,000 I realized I had doubled up on one creditor
because one of them was already in collections I had two people collecting on the same debt
so once I removed that debt it came down to about 22,000 and then I wanted to pay everything
off in three years so I wanted to make sure that after three years I was completely done
so we worked on a payment that was comfortable and something I was able to make along with making the rest of my payments that I had to make on my budget but something that
would also help me to pay off all the debt within three years.

So the payment that was
settled on at the beginning was $800 and I paid it every paycheck I paid $400 then after
a while it even things started to get a little bit tighter for me where I felt like I wasn't
able to really manage that so all I did was I gave them a call and let them know that
my budget has changed a little bit would they be willing to help me negotiate down to $600
a month and so we were able to work together to figure out how I could do that. I was able
to work with them and they help you create a budget.

That's one thing that they helped
me to do was create a budget to see what I could pay and how I can do this and really
get rid of my debt within three years that was very helpful. And then the last question
is what was the biggest advantage of working with Clearpoint? One of the biggest advantages
is that they contacted all of my creditors and negotiated my interest rates down. In
most cases they were able to negotiate the high interest rates that I had of 22% to 24% and
they were able to negotiate that down to 0% for a lot of my creditors they were also able
to help me remove some of the fees and get fee concessions for me. My debt was pretty
delinquent at the time so they were able to call and negotiate.

So they did all of the
negotiations for me in that instance whereas I might have been able to get some of that down but
and they were really good at that so that helped a lot. It really helped me to pay all of
that debt within three years. Another thing that they did was they were the contact person
for all of my creditors. If I had creditors calling and some of them I it were in
collections all I did was say "hey I'm working with a credit counseling service
and you can contact them if you have any questions or if you want to know what payments are available
to be made because they are handling it all." I don't know what it is not think of something
in the industry where if you're working with a credit counseling service the creditors
they just don't bother you they will call the credit counseling service.

So they called
the credit counseling service and Clearpoint was able to talk to them. I didn't have to worry
about being scared my phone ringing all the time and figuring out "Should pick it up or
not?" Because at the time and I had a lot of debt it was a point where it was very stressful
and I talked about that in the blog post on how I paid off my $22,000 of debt. It was very
stressful. Yeah so that was the biggest advantage them being able to save me a ton of money
on fees, they saving money on interest rates and they were able to contact and talk to
my creditors and be that liaison. So that's my experience with Clearpoint as a credit counseling
service like I said I used them to help me pay off my $22,000 worth of debt.

If you have debt and you
have more questions on how you can pay off debt, your options and maybe more questions
about debt feel free to contact me at YoungFinances.com or you can leave a comment in the box below
just fill it up with any and all of your questions and I will be sure to either answer them in
the comment section or create a video response for you. Make sure you head over to YoungFinances.com
where I've got more information on debt, building credit and getting your finances on the right
track so that you can become a financial success. And finally if you liked this video and it
gave you some good information, give it a thumbs-up! I really appreciate all the support from
you guys and hope to see you next time.

Ok bye..

As found on YouTube

I zero April credit card offers stuff your mailbox every day they seem okay but you've heard nightmare stories many of them are true but you can use these same cards to quickly get yourself out of debt there are some extremely dangerous and tricky legal landlines to watch for however poet Robert Frost once said a bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain first I will give you the five tips that will quickly get you out of trouble using these 0 April credit card offers they are get approved for one of these 0 April credit card offers for an amount no larger than 1 half of what they would allow for example if your lender says you could have 20 thousand dollars of credit card debt get a card that has a maximum of ten thousand dollars why it will become clear later in this article and it is critically important read the very fine print of the 0 April credit card offers and find out how long the zero-percent is forum transferred in debt some places it is six months other places go for a year few cards go beyond 12 months what's the big deal knowing the length of the term helps you plan especially to plan when to start applying for a new one start applying for other zero April credit card offers well in advance of the cute off date for the current zero April offering this may take several weeks and you don't want to be late this is where it is critically important that you didn't get a maximum more than half of what you are allowed with the first card I will explain the reasoning for this later in the article just before your first 0% credit time is about ex pyar transfer the debt to the second card that you have standing by that you have chosen from all the other zero April credit offers the balance will be lower than when you started so you will right away see where this is leading perhaps you started with ten thousand dollars in debt and now you are transferring perhaps only nine thousand three hundred dollars of debt and quite possibly less depending on how much you are putting as a minimum monthly payment and close out your first account and plan when you will start applying for your next victim rinse and repeat keep a close eye on expiry dates and any possible fees there should be none if there will be you are better off to get another card at the beginning there should be plenty of zero April credit card offers to choose from remember the card companies are relying on your forgetting about the expiry date of the zero-percent offer if you forget you lose as there are usually penalties or fees if you trance fir in time you win you get another six months or year of 0% borrowing that will allow you to pay the principal down quickly norman vincent peale once said empty pockets never held anyone back only empty heads and empty hearts can do that but money in hand never hurt either my quote here's an extra tip the minimum payment on your second card will be less than on your first because it is for a smaller amount if you keep paying the higher amount every month that you were paying on your first card your balance will plummet and you will be free and clear of that debt much sooner again another benefit of the zero April credit card offers if used properly to your advantage now I will give you the to landlines to stay well clear of after they have been explained to you you will understand why they are so important and dangerous they are don't get a 0 April credit card that goes beyond half of what your bank will allow if the credit department says you should have no more than let's say twenty thousand dollars in credit card debt apply for $10,000 maximum find out well in advance how long it takes your payment to be posted to your account via whichever way you choose to pay the monthly payment on your 0 April credit card offers why Henry Ford it's not the employer who pays the wages employers only handle the money it's the customer who pays the wages that would be you dot the idea is to pay zero percent interest all the time you will not be approved for a credit card for the same amount as your first if you are over half of what you are allowed the lenders look at your total debt including unused credit card debt as your total debt here is how it works you can get twenty thousand dollars of credit card debt let's say you get twenty thousand dollars of credit at zero percent and all is well till it's eleven months down the road let's say and the zero-percent q Tov is a month away you happily apply for another twenty thousand dollars credit card so that before your original year is up you will transfer to the new card and get rid of the old one your application is rejected the letter stating that you are at your maximum right now they don't care and have no way of knowing if you would close the other account after transferring the funds many people get caught with this one maybe some of your original debt was at sixteen percent and now it could conceivably go to twenty nine percent only get a card that has a maximum of one half of the maximum you are allowed always the other landline deals with how quickly your payment is posted to your account the credit card companies are just waiting drool slithering down their jaws just waiting for you to be late by even an hour why because in all the fine print you agreed to in the beginning is a clause stating that any late payment late by even a tiny amount is grounds for termination of the zero-percent deal and you will have to pay the regular amount from then on and that could be almost thirty percent in the case of department store cards even electronic payments may take a few days to post mailed in checks take much longer find out for sure they will show no mercy on this one many people get burned with this thinking they paid immediately online they go through the roof when they get a letter saying their payment was later and oh so sorry but now you have to go to our regular rate Albert Einstein not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted dealing with debt is incredibly frustrating especially when you see the banks being bailed out and they then adjust your charge is upward I cannot stress enough to make a little more than your minimum payment well ahead of time this is where most people get burned and what the credit card companies and banks count on there is so much anger and frustration all this is made worse by uncertainty in our jobs and careers as we look over all these 0 April credit card offers it's scary take your time and be wary but the end result is worth it the best ideas seem to come out of nowhere experience is so valuable some solutions are very simple yet we are not aware of them to create a central clearinghouse to help everyone either share new ideas xperience repeat a horror story tell a story of success or whatever as long as it is connected to debt I have created a site where you can share and learn or just scream and vent see below

As found on YouTube

Hello and welcome to Finder's financial self-help series where we swap scented candles for sage money tips and advice. Check it out. Most of us have been raised to think that debt is 
a dirty word, when in reality, unless you’re one of the lucky few, debt is just another part of 
life. In this video, I’ll talk you through some of the most common types of debt and some tried 
and tested ways to get it under control. Debt is money you owe usually to a bank, credit 
card provider or some other type of lender.   You get in debt when you borrow money or buy 
something using credit. There are interest-free   credit deals around, but typically, when you 
borrow money you’ll be charged interest so make   sure you factor that into any repayments.
Some of the most common forms of debt   include mortgage debt, credit card debt, 
personal loan debt and business debt.
  A mortgage could see you borrowing hundreds of 
thousands of pounds , so this will likely be the   biggest debt you’ll have to deal with throughout 
your life. Because the debt is so large,   your interest charges will add up to a pretty 
significant amount over your life.

And because   mortgage debt is typically paid off over many 
years, financial discipline is essential.
  Whether it’s buying a car or paying for a 
wedding, a personal loan can be used for just   about anything. Where a loan is secured against an 
asset, like the car you purchased with the loan,   you could risk it being repossessed by the lender 
if you don’t keep up your payments. Short-term,   payday loans charge extremely high interest 
rates and should only be considered as a   last resort if you have no alternatives.
A form of lending that’s boomed across the UK   in recent years are buy now, pay later schemes. 
Depending on the provider, these services allow   you to choose from a variety of plans to repay 
your shopping balance over a longer period   of time or in smaller instalments.

Be aware 
that some plans charge interest and late or   missed payments could impact your credit 
score, so make sure you carefully consider   the right plan and service for you.
If you’re running a business, buying stock,   expanding into new markets or 
hiring a bunch of new people,   often involves borrowing money. So when it comes 
to business loans, business credit cards or   other overheads, sometimes the old adage holds 
true: you gotta spend money to make money.
  To help you get on top of your debt, we’ve set 
out actions you can take and sources for help,   for three levels, from minor 
through to serious problems.
  The first tier is for people who find 
themselves in a small amount of debt   but who want to take some smart, responsible 
changes today to better manage their payments   and get on top of interest charges.
One approach could be to consolidate or transfer   your balance onto a balance transfer card with 
a low or 0% interest rate for an introductory   period, like 6, 12 or even 20 months.

A one-off 
balance transfer fee usually applies and,   be aware, that once the introductory period 
is over, the interest will revert to a higher   rate – so, try and use the low or 0% interest 
window as a deadline to pay your balance off.
  If you’re struggling to manage one or multiple 
credit card debts, try adjusting your payment   plan. Focus on paying one card off at a time, 
try and pay more than the minimum each month,   pay off your balance in weekly instalments 
and prioritise your credit card repayments   as soon as you get paid.
If you’re paying interest on multiple debts   and you’re struggling to make repayments, you 
could consider consolidating your debts – perhaps   with a debt consolidation loan or even by 
remortgaging.

This way you could end up with   just one monthly repayment and potentially lower 
interest rates. Just be aware that consolidating   short-term debt into, say a 30-year mortgage 
might be cheaper and more manageable for you   month-to-month initially, but would likely 
work out a lot more expensive overall.
  If you think any of these options 
are the right move for you,   make sure you compare a range of loans and lenders 
and only borrow from a reputable lender.
  If your debt is starting to feel unmanageable 
and the above solutions won’t do the trick,   it could be time to speak to a debt advisor 
to work out a debt management plan.
  You can get free help from the charity StepChange. 
You could also consider using a debt management   service – but this will come with a fee.

You’ll 
make monthly payments to your debt management   service, which then distributes your funds between 
your creditors, effectively consolidating your   loan. With a debt management plan it may also be 
possible to suspend interest on your debt.
  Before you choose a paid-for debt management 
plan, it’s sensible to contact your lender   directly and explain your circumstances. 
Ultimately, they want to get their money back,   so they might be able to freeze a few payments 
or work out a plan with you individually.
  Tier 3 are your insolvency options. This 
is your last port of call for when your   debts have truly got on top of you and none 
of the other solutions are available.
  These options include individual voluntary 
arrangements for larger debts typically over   £10,000-£15,000, where you pay an insolvency 
practitioner who then distributes the funds   between your creditors. Administration 
orders for debts less than £5,000,   where your local court will act 
as the insolvency practitioner.   Debt relief orders, which are an alternative 
to bankruptcy. And bankruptcy itself,   which is a court order that declares you 
legally unable to repay your debts.
  Due to a difference in legislation, these 
insolvency options are only available in England,   Wales and Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, 
instead of an IVA you have a Trust Deed,   a minimal assets process is similar to a 
debt relief order and a sequestration is   the Scottish version of bankruptcy.
In some cases, any interest or charges   on your debt will be frozen during your 
arrangement or your debts will be cleared.   These insolvency solutions are absolutely a 
last resort, though, as they can have long term   implications for your future borrowing power 
and will seriously affect your credit score.
  For more information on managing your debts 
effectively head to finder.com.

Links are in   the description below. If you enjoyed this 
video give us a like or subscribe to our   channel. Or stay tuned for our next video 
coming up. As always, thanks for watching..

As found on YouTube

>>> AMERICANS ARE RACKING UP UNPRECEDENTED AMOUNTS OF CREDIT CARD DEBT. >> SOME ESTIMATES SHOW THAT WE COLLECTIVELY OWE $1.6 TRILLION. ACCORDING TO WALLET HUB, THE AVERAGE CHICAGO HOUSEHOLD OWES MORE THAN $13,000, AND THAT IS A STAGGERING FIGURE WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT SOME OF THESE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES CHARGE AS MUCH AS 30% INTEREST ON OUTSTANDING PAYMENTS. EXIT JOINING US NOW TO SHARE SOME ADVICE FOR AMERICANS STRUGGLING WITH CREDIT CARD DEBT IS ASHLEY WALTON, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER WITH THE GOLDSTONE FINANCIAL GROUP. ASHLEY, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. FIRST THING IS FIRST, WHY IS CREDIT CARD DEBT RISING? >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME. I THINK THAT WE ALL HAVE FELT THE INFLATION INCREASING THE COST OF LIVING , AND UNFORTUNATELY, THAT MEANS THAT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY FOR EVERYDAY EXPENSES, WHICH OFTENTIMES LEADS TO PEOPLE RELYING ON CREDIT CARDS JUST TO MAKE ENDS MEET.

AND THEN WE PAIR THAT WITH HIGHER INTEREST RATES AND THAT IS JUST MAKING IT EVEN HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO PAY OFF THEIR BALANCES. THE FEDERAL RESERVE HAS YET TO CUT INTEREST RATES THIS YEAR, WHICH MEANS MANY CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ARE STILL CHARGING SUCH HIGH RATES, SOMETIMES IT IS EVEN AS HIGH AS 25% APR. >> LET'S SAY WE DO HAVE A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE FACTORS, WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS ON HOW TO START CHIPPING AWAY AT THAT CREDIT CARD DEBT? >> SO, FIRST YOU HAVE TO PRIORITIZE DEBT REPAYMENT. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BUDGET, YOU HAVE TO MAKE ONE TO HELP YOU STAY ORGANIZED. BECAUSE IF YOU WANT TO PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARD BALANCES, YOU WILL DO BETTER IF YOU HAVE AN ACTUAL WRITTEN BUDGET THAT PRIORITIZES THAT DEBT OR PAYMENT.

ONE THING YOU CAN DO IS TRY TO LOWER YOUR EVERYDAY EXPENSES IF YOU CAN, SO THEN WILL HAVE MORE MONEY TO PUT TOWARDS YOUR DEBT. I THINK WE ALL PROBABLY HAVE AT LEAST A SUBSCRIPTION OR TWO THAT WE CAN CANCEL, BUT ALSO, NOW THAT GROCERY BILLS ARE SO HIGH, IF YOU CAN FIND A WAY TO LOWER YOUR GROCERY BILL BY BUYING OFFBRAND ITEMS OR THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE BUDGET IS STICKING TO IT IN ORDER TO AVOID OVERSPENDING, BECAUSE OTHERWISE, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO KEEP INCREASING THOSE BALANCES.

>> SO, WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT? >> FIRST, PUT THE CARDS AWAY, AVOID ACCUMULATING MORE DEBT AS YOU PAY OFF WHAT YOU OWE. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE SEE SO OFTEN WEAR ONE BALANCE WILL GO DOWN, AND THEN ANOTHER BALANCE WILL GO RIGHT BACK UP. SO FIRST, IF YOU CAN, AS SOON AS A CARD GETS TO ZERO, SET UP AUTO PAYMENTS, SO IT WILL PAY OFF THE FULL BALANCE EACH MONTH, AND THAT WILL KEEP THAT ONE TAKEN CARE OF, RIGHT? SOME PEOPLE MIGHT THINK THEY ACTUALLY HAVE TO SEPARATE THEMSELVES FROM USING A CREDIT CARD ALTOGETHER, AND IF THAT IS THE CASE, YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO STICK WITH PAYING FOR THINGS WITH CASH IF YOU CAN.

BUT WITH EVERYTHING ONLINE NOW, IT IS VERY HARD TO GET AWAY WITH BUYING EVERYTHING WITH CASH, SO ANOTHER IDEA IS TO TAKE OFF YOUR SAVED CARD INFORMATION. I KNOW IF I HAVE TO GET UP AND GET A PHYSICAL CREDIT CARD, I AM MUCH LESS LIKELY TO IMPULSE .

As found on YouTube