With the tremendous competition building up, many credit card companies have started offering introductory 0% APR credit cards. Aimed to attract new credit card applicants, no interest charges are applied to outstanding balances during the 0% APR period. With this, users can afford to pay only the minimum each month without being charge hefty interests until the promotional period is over.
This situation forms a loophole that can be exploited by credit card surfers. Purchases are made with their 0% APR credit cards till the maximum credit limit. Only the minimum amount imposed by the credit card company will be paid each month without incurring the cost of interest charges. Once a card is maxed out, credit card surfers will make an application for another 0% APR credit card and repeat the same cycle.
Sounds like a great way to get free cash, doesn't it? Well while you may be able to surf through a few cards, sooner or later you are bound to come to a road block. With huge debt piled up with interest rate charges imposed after introductory 0% APR rate period, credit card surfers will have to face snowballing debt once interest rate charges come into the picture. The exception to this is when credit card surfers pay off all their outstanding debt before this happens.
Otherwise, with multiple credit cards in their hands, each of which are charged till the maximum in credit limit, any default or late payments will result in a bad credit score. Now, what are the consequences of a bad credit score?
Well, now that you are labeled as a high risk lender, you probably won't be entitled for any more regular credit cards. The only ones that you could acquire are high interest credit cards catered specifically for consumers with bad credit reports. This puts you at a disadvantage as you are now paying higher interests.
Apart from that, getting your loan approved for a car or a house will also be a challenge. You probably will have to pay much more in interests than others. In the end, it may be best that you don't make the purchase until your credit report is set straight. This will only happen if you pay off your outstanding credit card debt and maintain a good payment history for the next 6 months to a year. This is the hard part as you need to work harder or take on another job to get your debt cleaned up.
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1) Pay off all bad debts immediately.
The best thing that you can do for an immediate effect is to try and payoff all your outstanding debts. No matter what the charge is, you need to pay off all debts as fast as possible. As you get your checks take some time and budget in small payments to clean up your credit history. Do not do it in a way that you become even more in debt. Just figure out a little plan and pace yourself with amounts.
2) Be extremely careful when it come to co-signing anything.
For the time that you are spending to pay back debts, you should be very careful when cosigning for anything. That is, if your credit score will still allow you to even co-sign at all. If it is something you can do without, do not even bother with it. This is a time when you need to keep a close "hawk" eye on your expenses. Joking around right now is not an option. As everyone knows, your credit score number
3) Seek credit counseling from a well known institution.
This option is not really considered, but it is mostly for those who are in really bad debt. What you need to do is find a well known successful credit counseling company. There are a lot of them out there that turn out to be scams. They will help you to pay of the complete debt immediately and set you up with a payment plan for them without hurting your credit. Be sure not only to do research on the internet, but also ask friends and family to get the best possible options. But remember, before taking this step, you need to be sure that you have enough money to pay for their services.
4) Try to make purchases with cash instead of credit.
This next tip comes from basic experience and common sense. If your credit is in bad standing, then use cash. Some people do not feel safe carrying around cash, but it is an easy way to save credit. Keep in mind that your credit score will drop even lower if you use it while it is in bad shape. Do not keep too much cash and go crazy, just do this until you rebuild your credit score.
5) Limit the amount of credit cards you own.
Just as any other person with good credit and organization skills, you will need to limit the amount of credit cards you have. The more credit cards you have and actively use, the harder it will be to manage your payments. You need to have the ability to track your credit cards, including payment due dates, interest rates, fees, and charges you have made. If you can limit the amount of credit cards you own especially at this time, it will really help in the long run.
Both Alan Bernstein & Donald Mckenzie Jr are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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