Save Your Credit AND Your Marriage
by Jeanette Fisher
Before you whip out
your credit card, stop and think. America is often called a consumer society,
and it's true. We're also a nation of credit card debt, which is evidenced
by some of these startling facts.
We all know that acquiring overwhelming debt
is stressful from a financial standpoint. However, it might surprise you
to know that more than 70 percent of divorces in America are brought about
due to financial problems. |
One
thing Americans are NOT is savers. We simply don't put away enough money
to protect us in the case of financial emergency. In fact, the average American
consumer carries so much debt load that they're a mere three paychecks away
from having to declare bankruptcy.
Financial emergencies arise all the time, of
course, but Americans continue to build up credit card debt, without thought
of the possible consequences. That's why nearly 1,500,000 people in the United
States are forced to file for bankruptcy every year. Another 1,500,000 people
will turn to the various consumer credit counseling organizations for help
in order to try to avert bankruptcy. That's a staggering number, but it's
dwarfed in comparison to the 37,000,000 people who endeavor to work out plans
with their creditors on their own. That's 40 million people a year who are
in enough financial trouble to take drastic action!
How do people get in such horrible financial
condition? One way is through the use of credit cards. They may be convenient,
but they certainly make consumers pay more for the merchandise they buy.
For instance, a person paying for a purchase with a credit card will pay,
on average, more than 130 percent for that item than if they had simply paid
cash for
it. |
A
large majority of consumer only pay the minimum payment on their charge cards,
but those payments are generally 90 percent interest, with only 10 percent
going toward reducing the principal. A staggering 71% of all credit card
holders pay only the minimum payment, and they do it without a thought to
the consequences. If they can easily afford the monthly payment, they just
keep paying it, without realizing how expensive their purchases ultimately
have become.
If you are one of the millions of Americans
who are only paying the minimum amount on your charge cards, start paying
MORE each month. Even if it's only a little more. Reducing the principal
balance will shorten your overall payment schedule--sometimes by hundreds
or even thousands of dollars.
Overwhelming debt is stressful from a financial
standpoint, but financial stress can also damage your relationship. More
lovers fight over spending money than any other issue.
The statistics are mind-boggling, and with interest
rates headed even higher, you must educate yourself on the wise use of credit,
pay cash whenever possible, and try to live within your means, even if it
means doing without some things. It's the only way you can avoid becoming
one of those sad financial statistics yourself. Monitor your credit card
use. Manage your credit card debt. Wise credit card use could even help save
your marriage.
Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher
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FREE Credit Tips ebook
http://worryfreecredit.com
About
the Author
Jeanette Fisher, Lake Elsinore CA United States
Jeanette at
joytothehome.com
More Details about Credit Card Debt here. Jeanette
Fisher, Design Psychology professor, expanded her innovative interior design
methods into real estate investing. She is the author of interior Design
Psychology, real estate, and credit books. Explore Design Psychology to decorate
your home for happiness or top dollar sales value and sign up for her Joy
to the Home Journal at
http://www.joytothehome.com/ Design
Psychology:
http://www.designpsych.com/ .
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