Friday, January 9, 2009

How To Avoid The Financial Pitfalls Of Debt And Credit Cards

Many of us would have to admit to ourselves that we don’t know as much as we should do about debt management. And this is why when the bills arrive each month, we get the shock of our lives when we learn the level of debt we are getting ourselves into. Fortunately, there are simple ways to steer away from financial pitfalls. To help you stay away from financial pitfalls, here are some debt management tips for you.

One of the most effective debt management strategies is to make a monthly budget. Debt management is easier if you know how much money you earn each month. Coming up with a budget is fairly easy. In really, a budget is simply a schedule of what you earn and what you spend. To come up with your monthly budget, you need to determine how much money is available to you monthly and how much money you can afford to spend from your earning.

The key to good budgeting and debt management is to spend within in your means. Good debt management principles dictate that you should be prudent in your spending. If you can't afford something, then do not buy it.

However even having had debt problems in the past, companies are still willing to lend us money by offering us the best credit card deals and even credit cards for people with bad credit. To curve impulse spending, leave your credit cards at home when you go shopping. If you do not have your creditscards with you, you will not be able to buy just about anything that caught your fancy.

Excessive borrowing is a no-no when it comes to debt management. According to most debt management gurus, you should only borrow what you need. Forget about getting some money from the bank or the financial institution when you refinance your old loans. If you really must refinance your old loans, just have the loan restructured to suit your current financial capabilities.

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