Credit Card Debt Elimination Tips From Former Card Debtor

By Author: J.J. Yong
Total Articles: 962
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I have been using credit cards for the past 10 years. There are many good and bad experiences which have made me smarter. Due to uncontrolled spending habit and financial crisis, I have accumulated a big sum of outstanding balances on my credit cards. I had $20,000 debt with me.

During that period, I was so desperate and depressed. My employer considered to retrench some staff, including me In order to keep my job, I agreed to accept salary cut. My monthly budget was terribly tight and I was running out of cash. Furthermore, it was really stressful to receive reminder letters from my card issuers to remind me to repay my monthly payment. I kept telling myself that I could overcome the hardship if I think positively. I searched in the internet and read a lot of articles on how to reduce the credit card debt. I even shared with my colleagues in order to get some workable solutions.

At first, I had thought of negotiating with my creditors for debt settlement but my friend reminded me about the credit score. I made my decision not to go for settlement. I decided to take up more part time jobs to raise cash. I worked ...
... as waitress at night and I became perfume promoter during weekends. At the same time, I sold out my jewelry. I managed to raise a few hundred dollars every month to repay my credit card debt. Initially, I only managed to pay back the minimum payment. After that, I tried hard to cut down my monthly expenses on entertainment and transport. Gradually I managed to pay back more. I was happy that I could avoid myself from late fee charges and over-the-limit fee.

Three months later, I found out that if I kept doing this way, I still could not eliminate my debt fast. I noticed that I was bearing high cost as the interest rates for my credit cards are extremely high. I started to look for alternatives. At that time, many banks were promoting balance transfer with zero interest. I quickly grabbed the opportunity. I contacted one of the banks and I applied for balance transfer. I transferred all my high interest credit cards to a zero interest account. Since I could only enjoy the zero interest for 12 months, I set a target for myself. I "forced" myself to repay the debt within one year. I worked out another budget based on my new plan. During that period, I kept all my credit cards and I didn't swipe any of them. It was a tough time for me but I really reduced my total outstanding balances from time to time. I had successfully cleared my debt after a year.

Now I am still a credit card holder but I have reminded myself to make sure that I have zero outstanding balance on my monthly card statement. In my personal view, it is not necessary for you to go for debt settlement as it will damage your credit score badly. There are other constructive methods you can make use of. For me, having self discipline and strong determination are the most important elements in the debt elimination process.
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