Breaking the habit how to stop using your credit card

Breaking the Habit: How to Stop Using Your Credit Card

You know your debt is rising, but still cannot stop

using your credit card for purchasing items. Several

people get easily dependent on credit cards for

everyday expenses and impulsive buys. 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.

Close, Shred and Leave

If you really want to avoid those from happening all

together or if you are starting to drown in your debt,

you have to stop credit card usage. Fortunately, there

are several ways on how to.

Firstly, many people would agree that closing your

credit card account is the best way possible. One and

simple call to your cardholder is sufficient enough to

inactivate your credit card. Doing so might even quiet

down that nagging feeling and desire to purchase items

using a credit card. Just think that there might be

one situation wherein the clerk says your credit card

has been denied; the embarrassment from that situation

is reason enough for you to inactivate your credit

card.

Shredding is also an excellent way to break the habit

completely. You can use an office shredder since it

works great on plastic as it does on paper. Since your

credit card is shredded into pieces, there is no way

that you can swipe it. However, if you do not have a

shredder, scissors are great too. Just cut the card

into small pieces and make sure that the credit card

number cannot be identified by potential thieves.

Another excellent way to stop using the credit card,

especially when you go out of the house, is to leave

them. If closing or shredding is not your style, try

taking your credit card out of your wallet when you

are about to go shopping. In this way, if you have the

urge to buy something you really do not need, you have

to think twice before buying it since you are about to

use your own money.

The Shock and What Your Can Do About It

You have been using your credit card for your expenses

but have you ever thought about the total amount of

cash you spend in interest alone each year? More so,

the duration of time it will take you to just pay off

your credit cards might shock you. It is all about the

numbers and these will put you into shock and can make

you think twice before using that credit card again.

For instance, 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.

Since you know what credit cards can do, you might

want to stop using it once and for all. Learn how to

say "no" since this kind of discipline can help you

stop impulsive buys, thus stopping the use of credit

cards. Always think twice about swiping that credit

card for your purchases and you would not have to

think about repairing your credit in the future.