Breaking A Habit- How To Stop Using Your Credit Card?
People get very dependent on using credit cards in their daily lives to make purchases
. It becomes a habit that gets into our everyday lives. The debt keeps rising and you are not sure how to break the habit.
The problem becomes worse when the bill comes and you see you owe interest in addition to what you borrowed to make the purchase.
Here are some simple solutions.
Close it or Leave it
First you may want to consider closing credit card accounts. These days' people seem to have 3-4 credit cards they carry with them. Do you really need that many?
If you find yourself tempted by impulse buying you may consider not carrying a credit card with you and instead use cash for your purchases. This limits what you will purchase and make you think twice about purchases.
Some people put their credit card in the freezer, frozen in ice to make it more difficult to use the card. This may seem extreme but it works to prevent impulse buying.
What about interest shock?
You have been using your credit card for your monthly expenses.
Have you stopped to think about the total amount of cash you spend in interest alone each year?
Think about the time it will take to pay off those credit cards. If you keep this in mind it may help you reduce the urge to buy.
Here is another way to look at it.
If you have a balance of $1,000 and an interest rate of 14%, it will take you about four and a half years before you can pay it off; that is, if you are making $25 in payments every month. By the time you pay off the balance, you will have paid a total of $347.55 in interest. Even if the items you purchased were on sale that is no bargain.
Say No!
Learn how to say no since this kind of discipline can help you stop impulsive buys, thus stopping the use of credit cards. If you think twice about paying with a credit card for your purchases you will not have to think about repaying them in the future.
In conclusion, if your debt is rising you have to find a plan.
The fact that you are borrowing money from the creditor for your purchase might be tempting, but the truth is: you must be able to pay it off on time. Neglecting those bills can cause headaches in the future. You might get malicious letters from your creditors, or even receive threatening telephone calls.