Debt Management Tips – Handling Your Credit Card Dues Efficiently

Paying off debts can be very burdensome especially when surcharges and interest rates keep on piling up. One of the most problematic aspects of debt management issue is credit card debt repayments where borrowers often find themselves getting buried with a piling debt that they cannot seem to overcome. Credit cards can entice its users to make uncontrolled purchases until they max up their credit and find themselves no longer capable of paying off their monthly dues. About 80% of households use credit cards for making purchases which can be a dragnet of draining out your financial health. If you are a credit card owner, you will find these tips on how to handle your credit card dues more efficiently very useful to avoid finding yourself in a very dire financial situation that can leave you from one debt to another.

How much do you have to spend using your credit card?
Each time that you use a credit card for making a purchase, you are contracting a debt on the process. Because it is easy to buy something with just a swipe of a card, the consumers often find themselves completely forgetting that every penny they charge to their credit card should be repaid within a given time otherwise they will find themselves paying an interest for the principal amount of their purchase. Worse, the failure to pay the monthly due on time will incur you surcharges, interest and other fees. Try to get hold of your urge to make unnecessary purchases using your credit card because of the danger that you can reach beyond the debt-to-income ratio which should be the ceiling when you should burden your income with debts. According to financial experts, it is acceptable to incur a debt of up to 25% of your income. Anything more than this can cause a significant burden to your finances. By maintaining this percentage will make you capable of handling your monthly credit card dues and can even provide you better leeway of paying off your debts a lot quicker.
Avoid paying the minimum dues
Credit card companies usually provide a minimum amount to pay for your monthly credit card dues. While this is the minimum amount that you should pay them you are not precluded from paying off more than this amount. Playing by their rules will only mean that you are leaving more outstanding balance to your account which will incur an interest charge. If you can afford it, try paying your credit card debt more than the minimum dues required from you. This debt management practice of paying off your credit card will help you reduce the costs of paying a higher interest for your debt and will keep you debt free only in a matter of a few months.
Learn to negotiate with your credit card provider
You need to be smarter when dealing with your credit card provider. Keep in mind that while credit card companies will always try their best of imposing as much charges as they can from your account, they also want to keep customers than losing them. If you are tired of getting endless charges and skyrocketing interest charges, all you need to do is try to negotiate with them. Explaining your current financial circumstances will give them a better opportunity of considering in helping you pay them of your debt than to concede to the fact that they might not be able to collect from you at all.
Leave your credit cards at home when shopping
If you think you have a problem in controlling your urge of using your credit card when shopping, you are better off leaving it at home. This will keep you from the temptation of adding more charges to your credit account and will help you to concentrate more on paying your debt than using it for purchases.
Make an inventory of your credit card purchases
It helps to make yourself understand where all the credit card charges come from that you have to endure of paying every month. By making an inventory on your purchases, you will see which unnecessary expenses that you have made using the credit card that is now burdening your finances. Consequently you will become more aware of your unnecessary spending that is worth avoiding in the future when using your credit card.
 Victoria Anderson is a finance writer for Guarantor Loans Direct. She contributes news towards personal finance, debt management, taxes, investing, planning and business things.