How to Escape your Credit Card Debt
Posted August 22nd, 2009 and last modified February 7th, 2012
Featured Balance Transfer Credit Card
Escape your credit card debt using an HSBC Credit Card which features a $0 annual fee for the life of the card plus a 0% p.a balance transfer offer for the first 6 months. This card also has a low minimum income requirement of $20,000.
- $0 annual fee
- 17.99% p.a. on purchases
- 0% p.a. for 6 months with 2% handling fee on balance transfers
- Cash Advance Rate of 21.99% p.a.
- 55 days interest free
- Minimum Income Requirement of $20,000 p.a.
- Access to HSBC Home & Away Privilege Program which gives you instant discounts and rewards.
Credit cards are a convenient way to make purchases, especially if don’t have any cash on hand. Aside from that, you can easily get instant cash in case of an emergency by doing a cash advance. However, even though credit cards are easy to use, there can be some negatives if you don’t manage your credit card usage.
When your credit card purchases begin to pile up, you might end up in a frustrating situation where you don’t know what to do with those accumulated debts, and how you are going to find the money to repay them.
In Australia, almost anyone can get a credit card, and it’s extremely easy to apply for a credit card online. The average Australian has a credit card debt of around $3000 – here are some ways to help repay your credit card, and beat the average!
Pay your credit card bill during an interest free period
The best thing that a person should do prior to applying for a credit card is to look for credit card companies that offer a zero percent introductory offer or balance transfer interest rate. There are a number of Australian banks that offer 0% interest p.a. balance transfers. In your quest to eliminate your debt, it would be a wise move to choose to pay off your card within the interest free days (55 days for many cards) rather than pay interest every month.
Check out our range of balance transfer credit cards and look for an offer with a 0% per annum interest rate. When you apply, make sure that you choose the credit card that is best for you.
Is it better to cancel my credit card in order to completely repay the debt?
Debt is not a reason to cancel your credit card. For those who are having a hard time of resisting the temptation of using their credit cards while the debt is still not paid, it would be much better to destroy your credit card rather than cancel it. You can always ask for a replacement in case you have destroyed your credit card.
Destroying your credit card can be done simply by cutting it through the numbers written on the card using sharp scissors. You can also cut it through the magnetic strip located on your credit card.
I own multiple credit cards that have reached the maximum credit limit
Actually, there are a lot of people who own numerous credit cards that have already reached the maximum credit limit. Because of this, repaying those debts is serious wallet damage to a lot of people.
To make things easier, the answer to repaying multiple credit card balances would be credit card consolidation. There are different methods that you can choose from in order to consolidate your credit cards. Here are the methods:
- You can apply for a personal loan that can help you repay your debts while providing you an easy payment schedule every month.
- You can also apply for a balance transfer credit card – in this scenario all of your current credit card balances will all be transferred to a new single credit card account.
- For those who have very large credit card debt, you can also consider applying to refinance your mortgage so that you can repay your credit card debt.
Keep away from credit card debt
People say that it be best to prevent a problem than to cure or solve it. If you want to keep away from credit card debt, you need to make sure that you have chosen the appropriate credit card that meets your financial requirements.
Needing a credit card at some point in our lives can’t be avoided because you’ll never know when you’d need it, and owning a credit card is almost becoming a compulsory thing in order to get by with credit cards used for online purchases, security deposits, and identity checks. You need to be very careful in choosing the right type of credit card because the wrong decision could negatively effect your financial situation, particularly with unnecessary interest repayment expenses which will slow down the rate at which you can repay your debt.
Be sure to compare the features of each credit card before you make a decision. You need to check the most important aspects of a credit card such as the fees, interests, charges – our comparison tables include this information, but it is also important to read the terms and conditions for each card offer.
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