Are there easy ways to reduce credit card debt?

Credit card debt is something that can seem to hang over people for a long time without anything being done about it.  Sometimes the debt seems so large that it is hard to do anything about it.  However there are ways to reduce credit card debt that although are not painless are fairly simple to understand.
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3 Naughty Credit Card Tricks to Scour Your Fine Print For

Think that the balance transfer rate, the purchase interest rate and the quality of the rewards program are the only factors you need to consider when getting a new credit card? Think again … there are actually quite a few naughty tricks that some card providers play on customers. They are all in the fine print – today we check out the 5 most common tricks that you’ll either need to account for in your spending habits, or scour the fine print of your contract for.

Ultra-low minimum repayments

It seems like credit card providers are being generous when they say that you only need to repay 2% of your credit card debt at most. The reality is, though, that if you repay any less than 2.5% of your total debt, even without putting any additional purchases on your credit card, your debt will slowly grow and will never actually be paid off. 2.5% is fairly standard across the industry, but the Jetstar credit card’s minimum repayment is 1.5%, and the Aussie credit card’s minimum is 2%.

Balance transfer rates reverting to the cash rate

On about half of credit cards that offer an introductory balance transfer rate, when the intro period ends any money still left owing reverts to the cash advance rate for that card. Given that most card charge over 20% for cash advances, it’s easy to get a rude shock on your first statement after a balance transfer period ends!

‘Mean’ Interest calculation

Tricks like backdating your interest to when you made the purchase, if you don’t repay a balance in full by the date specified are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ways that credit card companies can manipulate your terms and conditions to get more cash out of you. There’s a Choice survey detailing which cards are ‘fair; and which are ‘mean’ in their interest calculations.

What are store cards?

Store cards are one of the first cards that many credit card holders will get, but it can pay to understand what store cards are how they make their money.

Store cards are cards that are offered by stores and other brands, such as airlines, where they can offer the credit card instantly.  It will often be offered to a person who is buying some goods at the store at the time, together with offering a discount on the first purchase with the store card.  These store cards can be very good for these types of discounts, but they do tend to charge a high amount of interest. Read the rest of this entry »

Are You Getting Too Comfortable With Your Debt?

We all know that we work hard. We all know that spending on credit cards and carrying a balance simply makes rich bankers (and some middle-class bank shareholders) even richer, and keeps us on struggle street. But the catch is … we do it anyway. Australians owe many billions of dollars on credit cards to banks, who collect an average of 16% interest on those billions every single year. We’re constantly told that even the best credit cards will cost us a lot of money if we use them improperly; however most of us continue to ignore the exhortations. Are we just too comfortable with our debt? Read the rest of this entry »

How to Protect Your Credit Card Balance from Identity Thieves

For most of us, thinking like a criminal doesn’t come naturally. Thank Gosh! We just assume that when we put a credit card statement in the rubbish, nobody will see it again … and that only people who are going to send cards would want to know your kids birthdays. Unfortunately, ID thieves can get your personal details from a range of fairly accessible means. Here we look at how to protect your credit cards, credit history, and your entire life from identity thieves. Read the rest of this entry »