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  |  Debt  |  Credit  |  Five ways to conquer credit cards
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Five ways to conquer credit cards

Don't bury your head in the sand, learn how to master the credit monster

As if you needed it, here's just one reason to start managing your credit card debt now - if you don't, it will come back to haunt you. It can prevent you from getting a car loan, a mortgage or even a store card for years to come; in short, it can make your life hell.

So how do you get off the credit card merry-go-round? Here's how?

  • If you ever hope to pay off your credit card debt, you need to pay more than the minimum payment each month. You must also pay on time or a charge will be added onto the total, creating a larger minimum payment for the next month - and a larger charge added to the total again if you miss a second month.
  • Get a system for credit card debt reduction. You need your own deadline each month for paying bills. There are great software programs for keeping track of your financial records (and even writing cheques). Quicken, by Intuit, is a popular money-management program. So is Microsoft's Managing Your Money.
  • Negotiate with credit card companies. The amount of credit card debt in this country has made creditors realise that if they don't want people backing down from their obligations completely (in other words, if they want to get any money back), they have to make deals, such as:

Scenario One: You tell the company's collection department that you're having financial difficulties and need to have your interest rate lowered. It's as simple as that. They say: 'What can you manage?' You tell them.

  • Over the page: the second scenario
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