The holiday season has come and gone, and if you used credit cards to buy your holiday gifts, the bills have probably just started rolling in. With the high interest rates many credit card companies charge, your balance owed can increase rapidly. You may even feel as though your minimum monthly payments aren’t even impacting your outstanding balance. And if you are only making the minimum payments, they aren’t lowering your balance very much!
But, don’t let rising credit card debt overwhelm you. By taking advantage of the current low rates, you can refinance and pay off your high interest credit cards. Consolidating your bills to one, low monthly payment will enable you to quickly eliminate your credit card debt and free up the extra cash to use as you wish.
I strongly suggest you put some money aside to have a cushion. Unfortunately job losses are going to continue and not only will you not be able to borrow in the event you lose your job, but if you’ve reduced your debt and put money aside—it can make the difference between weathering the storm of unemployment or it having a serious effect on your family’s financial situation.
The economy may continue to struggle, but you can improve your situation by resolving to take control of your finances in 2009.
