1. Control your urge to spend: The first thing to do for debt elimination is to control your expenditures. Here we are talking about the payments you make using your credit card. Remember that the main reason being your getting into debt is uncontrolled expenditures using your credit card. So if you are really serious about debt elimination, this is one thing that will help in debt elimination by preventing accumulation of further debt. Here is what you can do to control your expenditures:
a. You need to stay away from attractive offers that are put-up by various shops and stores. Don’t buy anything that you don’t really-really need. After all you are looking for debt elimination not supplementation.
b. Leave your at home. If you really-really need something, then you can fetch your from your house. This will prevent you from yielding to the too-attractive-to-resist sale offers (that are actually there all the year round). This debt elimination technique, again, works on the principal of ‘prevention is better than cure’. This will prevent unplanned expenses from happening.
c. Prepare a monthly budget and stick to it. This is really a very important debt elimination measure. This budget will form the basis of your debt elimination plan. So if you deviate from your budget, your debt elimination plan will go for a toss.
2. Debt consolidation: Debt consolidation or moving from high APR credit cards to a low APR one is generally the first step (the first reactive step) for debt elimination. Here are a few things that you need to do:
a. Do not go for the first balance offer you come across. Analyse various offers and choose the one that best suits you. This will be an important thing on you debt elimination plan. Initial APR, Initial APR period and standard Apr, all need to be considered.
b. Read the fine print on the balance transfer offer and check the terms and conditions on these. These might affect your overall debt elimination plan.
c. Compare other benefits e.g. rebates, reward points, etc, before you actually decide to go for one of the offers.
Credit card debt elimination is about proper planning and discipline. So make your debt elimination plan and stick to it.
