Personal Credit
by Rick Hendershot, Small Business Online Linknet Network
We all know that personal credit is
very important. You have to guard your personal credit or you will be
in trouble. Many people end up having credit problems for a variety of
reasons. They have spent more than they've earned. They've used credit
cards when they are unable to make the minimum payments.
Being rewritten.... soon being replaced
or expanded..
Credit card debt can be the worst kind.
Easy credit is often used to buy things you could not otherwise
afford. This means you have an expense you cannot really afford to
pay. Now that you have a balance being carried on your card you have
the added expense of interest charges. Personal credit counsellors
will tell you the first thing you should do is get rid of credit card
debt.
Credit card companies and loan
companies don't always level with you. They are encouraging you to
"get in over your head" so you will pay them high interest on their
money. They don't want you to get in too far though. They want you to
be able to maintain your balance "in good standing", otherwise they
tend to hit the panic button. Raise the interest rate or cut you off.
Now you are paying against a card you cannot use.
The solution is to consolidate your
high interest debts by borrowing some low interest money. In other
words, get a debt consolidation loan. A personal credit advisor can
help you put this together. You can do it yourself too. Just call up
your credit card people (assuming you have already found a lender to
give you the debt consolidation loan) and say "I'm cutting up my
credit cards because I can't manage the debt. Will you please close my
account. And by the way can we work out some method of me paying this
off without having to pay such an exorbitant interest rate."
You might be surprised what you can
negotiate. The choices for them are clear. They can get most of their
money at a reliable repayment rate, at a lower interest rate OR have
to constantly hassle you, get unreliable payments, and probably have
to eventually settle for much less than the total anyway. | 
