Have you ever been in this situation? You’re making steady progress, regularly paying down a significant debt. But then, your last big payment of $450 was essentially neutralized by your annual $450 gym membership. In other words, you took one big step forward, only to take another right back. Sure, you need your gym membership,…
Many of us can relate to this scenario: after diligently paying off our credit card debt, we feel a surge of relief and accomplishment. However, it’s disheartening to see our debt slowly creep back up over time, ultimately leading us to realize that we’re on the verge of starting the debt repayment journey all over…
In the realm of personal finance, being proactive holds the key to mastering your credit card journey. By anticipating and allocating for unexpected charges, you’re not just safeguarding your budget but also taking charge of your financial destiny
Being trapped in a “debt cycle” or “interest treadmill” occurs when payments towards credit card debt mainly cover the interest, preventing progress in reducing the principal balance. To overcome this situation, strategies such as increasing payments, prioritizing high-interest debt, considering balance transfers or debt consolidation, adjusting spending habits, seeking professional help, and increasing income can be effective in breaking free from the cycle and regaining control of your financial situation.
Credit card rewards are often associated with travel benefits, but it’s important to recognize that they can also be used strategically to improve your financial situation. Depending on the reward system, cashback can be utilized to save money, pay off debts, or purchase registered products.
There seems to be so many different creative approaches that people follow in order to pay off their credit card balance. We decided to come up with our own in order to eliminate $6,500 in credit card balance. To begin with, it is not that we weren’t already making payments to reduce and even eliminate our balance….
The expenses never seem to end. But neither does my determination to lower my credit card balance and eventually make it disappear completely (balance of ZERO dollars!) It has been a big struggle to keep our-myself and my wife-credit card balance under control. Just when you thought you have made some progress, comes a wedding…
When you see the ‘minimum payment’ (MP) field on your credit card statement, think of it as your credit card’s way of making you feel good and not to worry. It is their way of telling you “Don’t worry, though you have thousands to pay us, you only have to pay us a fraction of…
I have talked and warned about ‘impulse buying’ in the past and recent bank polls re-affirmed and legitimized my warnings and fear: impulse buying is indeed killing the budgets of Canadians. According to a BMO poll, Canadians spend an average of $3720 on impulse purchases, which include clothing, shoes, electronics and even food (possibly leading…
In the last three years, dating back to the start of the global recession and the worsening economic conditions, we have been hearing a lot about bankruptcies. Both business and personal. Ignoring the ‘business’ side of things, when it comes to ‘personal’ cases of bankruptcies or being on the verge of sinking into one, a…