subject: Learning To Distinguish Between Wants And Needs [print this page] Having too many credit cards in your wallet can be both a burden and a blessing. Most of the time, it is more of a burden especially if you are tempted to buy things impulsively. Having too many cards will make it hard for anyone to keep track of the things that he or she buys from one credit card to the other. This is the reason why you should learn debt management. Learning how to manage and control your debt will help you to not fall into a pit hole of numerous debts. If you have no idea on how to start, these things might be able to help you do so:
Learn to prioritize. Since you have many cards, you should learn how to prioritize. Prioritizing means learning which accounts to pay first. The reason behind this is that each bank would offer you different interest rates. To be able to keep track of this, you need to list down all your credit cards and together with it put how much interest each one asks. When you have pinpointed which one gives the highest interest rates, pay the loans you made in this card first. The key to not falling into so much debt is in setting aside two times the amount of the minimum required payment in each month. This will make it easier for you to not fall into debt.
When it comes to the banks with lower interest rates, you can pay them after you have paid the ones with higher interest rates. This does not mean that you can delay your payment with lower cards. It only means that you can pay only the minimum amount required monthly compared to the double amount you need to pay for those banks with higher interest rates. Be sure that even if you pay the minimum amount only, you still pay the amount consistently every month.
Learn which ones are needs vs. wants. This might be an easy thing to follow for anyone. You should learn which ones are the things that you need. The things that you need should be your priority and your wants should be something that you should not indulge so much on. For instance, instead of buying coffee from the coffee shop everyday, why not invest on your own coffee maker?
Most debtors do not realize that it is actually easy to save and be out of debt if you just try and learn how to prioritize.
