Credit Cards. The Silent killer

When you have too many credit cards sitting around, you might be tempted to use them. The best way to make sure they don't come back to haunt you is to cancel them. And when you cancel your credit cards, it also makes your personal bookkeeping a lot easier. But there is a strategy to cancel your credit cards without hurting your credit score.

1.Sort your credit cards. Decide which cards you use and which ones you do not. It might also help to know which cards have the highest interest rates.

2.Keep two or three cards you use frequently. That way, you have credit cards to make online reservations, to pay for a rental car and to bail you out in the event of an emergency. But you shouldn't need more credit cards than that.

3.Start with the credit cards that have a zero balance. Wait to cancel credit cards that have any kind of a balance. Some credit card companies may raise your interest rate if you cancel while you still have a balance. But when your account is at zero, there's nothing they can do to you.

4.Contact the credit card company. You may be able to cancel your credit card by phone or even online. Each individual bank has different policies about cancellations.

5.Stay strong. If you've been a good customer, your credit card company might fight to keep you. But unless the offer is too good to pass up, you should continue forward with your wish to cancel the credit card.

6.Ask the credit card company to report your account closure to the main credit bureaus. It should say "closed at customer's request" to look best on your credit report.

7.Request a written confirmation of your account closure. Sometimes, they'll send this out the day that the account is closed. You should keep this on file just in case something ever comes up with the account. Then, you'll have proof that the account is closed.

Get rid of Credit Card Debts

average American has eight credit cards. You think to yourself how did I get into this mess. Well you did and you don't know how. With a few easy steps you can be out of credit card debt and stay out.

First important most important step is to stop now putting things on any cards. If its for a recurring thing such as gym membership, game membership every month. Stop it or try to pay it just with your checking account. The basic thing is to stop putting anymore onto your cards.

The second step is you need see where your money is mostly going. So gather up all your receipts and look. Is it going towards eating out or buying clothes. If it is find alternative routes such as packing your lunch or not buying clothes.

The third step is to look at all your cards and see the all the balances and to write them down. Now set a date usually seven to eight months from now. Which is a realistic goal.

Now take all your balance and divide them by seven or eight months or you can divide them weekly such as sixteen. Now your payments will be much more easier to pay per week or month and you won't feel overwhelmed of how much debt.

Tips To Stop Using your Credit Cards

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.

Service Tax For Credit Cards

RM50 Service Tax for Card Holders - Cancel your Credit Card Now!

The government had in its Budget 2010 proposals last week announced a RM50 service tax on each principal credit card, charge cards, including free cards and RM25 for supplementary cards by January next year.
This is a Bad news and ridiculous to Malaysia credit card holder.
It will effect all the credit cards including that have been promoted with the tag line “Free for Life”.
No more freebies.

Age of the Plastic Culture!

This is the Age of the Credit Cards, an Age of the "Plastic Culture".

Anyhow, the rate of credit card circulation shows that it’s easier than ever to subscribe to the “Plastic Culture” and the figures correspond also to the aggressive promotions and marketing campaigns by these credit card companies for the past few years. These companies will do anything, almost anything to get you to own their cards.

And the best part of the whole section is here - the rate of Bankruptcies caused by the “Plastic Overdose”.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 1--The number of Malaysians declaring personal bankruptcy surged 47 percent between 2001 and 2004 to figures more than double those seen during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, a report said Sunday, AFP reported.

Deputy Finance Minister Ng Yen Yen said bankruptcy cases rose to 16,251 cases in 2004 from 11,065 in 2001.
Even though the debt threshold for bankruptcy was increased from 10,000 ringgit to 30,000 in 2003, the finance ministry data still showed an rise in cases, Ng said.

“We are not even enduring bad times now. This is not good and it (the trend) must be stopped,“ she was quoted as saying by the Sunday Star newspaper.

Ng said even during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, there were only 7,396 bankruptcy cases.
Statistics showed that 11 percent of the people became bankrupt because of non-payment of credit card debt while 8 percent of the bankrupts were between the ages of 20 and 30, she said.

“This is serious because by right, no person under 35-years should be a bankrupt,“ the minister said.
Ng said the government was turning to education and improving awareness on how to contain overspending to prevent a further rise in financial failures.

Research showed a direct link between credit card use and the bankruptcy rate among those aged between 20 and 30, said T. Indrani, deputy secretary general of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations.