Prime Rate Credit

It was advertised as a service that can help you achieve complete freedom from credit card debt in as little as a few months, instead of a few years. I’m not quite sure what the program entails, but the guy on the ad said you would get a consultation with one of their attornies, and it’s only for people who are really serious about getting out of credit card debt.

Since there are more programs popping up like this, I wonder if they just have their attornie negotiate some sort of payoff deal with creditors? It just makes me think along those lines, because usually you don’t need an attorney to just pay off credit cards, or even negotiate lower interest - you can actually do that yourself, or play the credit card game.

a.) Make sure you will get the going prime rate when the intro period is up.

b.) Do not cancel your old card. Just keep it at a zero balance. Experts say it is better for your credit score if you do not cancel old credit cards.

5.) Start a side business. I would say get a second job, but historically people who have two jobs do not win in the end as far as taxes go. If you have a side business doing something that you enjoy, not only are you getting a second income, you are also getting tax deductions. This is a good rule of thumb, but as with everything else in life, it does not apply to every situation. There are tons of businesses that cost virtually nothing to start up, and it can be a very gratifying experience.

I just filled up my gas tank this morning for the daily trek into work, and spent what I normally would spend on a tank and a half of gas on one full tank of gas. And I consider myself one of the luckier ones, that does not (now) happen to live paycheck to paycheck, and be subjected to daily financial troubles just because I have to fill my gas tank and be a working, functioning citizen.

I ask myself, “when, if ever, are the gas prices going to go down, and how is this affecting our economy?”. Like anyone else, I’m concerned that now that we’ve hit almost $3.00 a gallon, the oil companies know they can get away with this, and we’ll never again see gasoline at $2.00 a gallon ….

I drive an SUV, albeit a small SUV - a Honda CRV to be exact. To fill my gas tank currently costs me roughly $37.00, with the prices currently being at $2.89 per gallon. What does this translate into weekly? Well, take my 45 minute to an hour drive into work, times that by ten times a week, and consider that I fill my tank about 3 times a week for work and leisure travel. What do you get?

By my calculations, I’ve been spending roughly $81-$85 per week on gasoline alone! Now take that times 4, and you’ve got a cost of about $340 per month, just to get around. This is how much some people might pay for rent, or a car payment, and yet this is exactly the amount that a lot of middle class people are paying to fill up their cars with gas!

I saw the other day a snapshot of a gas pump in Beverly Hills. The price was $4.04. Now granted, maybe people who happen to live in affluent areas like this are a little more able to afford these prices, but if this is a sign of things to come for the rest of us, what are we to do? The sad part is, everyone wants to do something about it, but no one is really quite sure “what” to do - including me.

So, What is Currently Being Done About The Surging Gas Prices?

I heard on the radio this morning, ironically just as I was pulling into the nearest gas station to fill up my dry tank, that President Bush has just commissioned an inquiry of sorts into the rising costs of gasoline. He has placed the responsibility, or the burden of proof if you will, on the major oil companies to prove that these skyrocketing costs are, in fact justified by a genuine shortage, and are not purely market driven.

What this means is that the government is now asking questions and attempting to hold the oil industry accountable for any market manipulation which may be happening - in other words, they’re investigating whether consumers are being price-gouged.

While I’m an eternal optimist about most things, it’s with regret that I say I don’t hold much hope for inquiries such as this to change anything at this point. Market analysts are already saying to brace ourselves for gas prices of $3.00 a gallon all summer long. We can only hope that they are wrong.

3.) ALWAYS try to pay at least double, if not triple your minimum credit card payments. This not only gets them paid down - and eventually off - faster, but it also reduces the interest on the unpaid balance, which gives you a little more breathing room to pay less in the future, since you’re not constantly adding more interest. Then it becomes an exercise in futility.

4.) Go ahead and play the “Credit Card Game”. This is where you pay off a higher interest credit card to a zero balance, with a new zero APR card. These types of credit cards usually only offer the zero APR deal as a limited time introductory rate, but you’ll still be getting a zero interest rate for those 6-9 months, which gives you more time to “really” catch up on your payments and pay a little more, when there will be nothing else tacked on, and you can truly pay your balances down to manageable amounts.

Most debt management programs will negotiate your interest rates with your credit card companies anyways, which is something most people don’t realize that they can actually do themselves.

American are officially overworked, overstressed and overextended in terms of debt and debt management. We are working record hours, new mothers are no longer staying at home as long, and even kids are getting jobs at younger ages, just to keep up with inflation, horrible gas prices and the ever-inflating credit card debt that all of us seem to fall into once we have lost some control over our financial straits.

But we all have within us the power to straighten out our debts, and get back into good graces with the credit report companies. This is the first part of my story on how I got out of credit card debt. It’s gonna span about four or five posts - hope you don’t mind!

The following few entries are going to be some fairly simple guidelines that I followed in my own life in order to recently become debt free. How much credit card debt did I have? I had about $10,000.00 of it and was able to pay it all off in less than one year, thanks to some of these guidelines and a little old fashioned discipline. You may find that some of these tips can help you reach your goals too, or at least be able to modify them to fit your lifestyle and credit goals.

1.) Put a strict limit on eating at restaurants - make it special occasions or emergency measure only. I overhear more people who are stressed about their personal debts talking about eating out a couple nights a week - and we’re not talking fast food either, we’re talking “eating out” at sit down places where you tip.

2.) Every time you go grocery shopping, make a list and a pre-determined budget and do not waver from it. Not only can your wallet benefit, but many times your waistline too!

Leaving open lines of credit is actually good for your credit score, even if you’re not using it and it has a zero balance forever, your credit score can benefit from keeping it open.

Some people say “but I really feel like it’s not really “paid off” unless I cancel it. Well, I would say if you have a credit card with an annual fee, this may be a concern, but if you have no annual fee and you know you’re not using it, who cares? You’ll never accrue any interest on new purchases, and the company should not send you a bill, so it’s out of sight out of mind anyways, right? Same as cancelling it, only better for your credit..