Debt Wake Up Calls

This week in the Money Class we have been talking about Debt Reduction. It’s easy to slip into too much debt.

But, there are some signs you are too far in debt and need to fix things fast before you get into the debt hole you can climb out of.

* Using Cash Advances on your credit card. Very expensive form of getting money.

* Moving to a different card because it has a lower rate more than once a year. Card hopping looks bad on the credit report and may mean you have too much on your cards.

* Using one credit card to pay off another card.

* You don’t have any savings. Don’t use savings to pay off debt because then when an emergency comes, you’ll have to put it on the credit card if you have no savings left.

* You can’t afford to pay more than the minimum payment on your cards. (Which means you will be paying it off a very long time.)

* Your credit cards are near or over their limit. Often banks give you more credit than you can comfortably pay off.

* You’ve been denied credit. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to check out your credit report and see why you many have been denied credit.

* You are paying bills late or playing around with dates to make sure you can pay all your bills.

If any of these describe your situation, it’s time to get a handle on your situation. Count up your debts and create a plan. And most importantly, don’t use any more credit until you get these paid down.