Loans & Credit
Cards
If you have credit cards, but have not
yet let your spending get out of hand, then now is the
time to take stock of your position and make some decisions
about your financial future. Ask yourself what do you
want those credit cards for? Do you just want them so
that you have a source of payment in emergencies, to
shop occasionally online, or when you travel abroad?
Or do you plan on going on a shopping spree and spending
the rest of the year struggling to clear the balance?
Most people do not intend to ever use up their credit
limits and max out their credit cards, but it is surprisingly
easy to do, and can be very difficult to undo.
In many instances, lenders know that when
they give out a credit card, it is like putting someone
on the edge of a cliff. While not exactly pushing you
over, they do place you in a very good position if you
want to just make the jump your self. It can be very
unfair, and anger against some practices of the lending
industry is growing. For example, in a recent case in
Ireland, a woman's husband killed himself after getting
into an unmanageable amount of debt using credit cards.
The wife is now seeking legal advice on whether she
can sue the lenders for recklessly allowing her husband
to get into a position where he would feel it necessary
to kill himself. |
While there have been no judgements
of this kind yet, and it would be an up hill battle for
anyone who sought to put the blame for their spending
on the lender, cases such as this are very easy for most
of us to imagine. Most people know that credit card companies
have given them far more than they reasonably can afford
to pay back. Therefore it takes self control and discipline
to keep these cards in your wallet and not over spend
on them. But as with many things
in life, when it comes to credit card debt, prevention
really is better than cure. One of the best practices
or habits you can get into regarding credit cards is
to have a direct debit set up so that you have to pay
back the full amount each month. This means that while
you have the convenience of using the card in emergencies
or while abroad, you have a strong incentive not to
let your lending get out of hand. |
