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Credit Card Temptations |
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- Toll Free Avoiding Credit Card Temptations When you think about giving into temptation, you often think of guilty pleasures like having a large slice of double chocolate cake when you're on a diet, or skipping a day of work to stay home and watch a championship game. On the other hand, I bet you never think of that plastic credit card sitting in your wallet right now as being one of the biggest temptations of all – but it is. In fact, you were tempted by the credit card company to sign up for that card. They are experts at offering consumers all sorts of goodies such as low interest rates, awards points, a higher credit limit, low fees and cash advances just to get you to sign on the dotted line. And, it works because they know that you will enjoy these perks, as well as, having access to "free money" whenever you want. Once you have the card in your possession, you are now under its spell. You immediately place it in your wallet and carry it with you wherever you go. While you may tell yourself that the card is only there in case you need it, what usually happens is that you end up "needing" it quite a bit. When you are in the store and spot an item that you want (but don't really need), and you know that you currently don't have enough in the bank to justify this extra expense, and you also know that your regular credit card is almost maxed out, well, it's okay, because you've got that new card burning a hole in your pocket. That big fat credit limit becomes too much to resist and you whip the card out and use it to make the purchase. Each time you do this, you are giving in to credit card temptation. Credit cards have a strange way of taking on the aura of play money. It's fun to imagine that you really do have $5,000 or more to spend on anything you want. Because you make monthly payments on the card, you figure you can treat yourself and still be okay financially. However, as you continue to give in to this spending temptation, the credit limit on the card quickly shrinks as your monthly payments become increasingly larger. Now, the problem becomes more urgent as you need to turn to your real money to pay for your credit card expenses. If you are like many people, this situation often snowballs out of control. Your credit card debt can balloon to thousands of dollars, because the amount of money you make stays the same each month and you can't keep up. Not only does this way of using credit cards put you in a financial bind, it also ensnares you in a dangerous cycle of spending money that you don't really have. Soon, you are looking for a way out, and the solution that many people choose is to apply for yet another credit card. This way of solving the problem will just lead you into even more astronomical debt, unless, you can learn how to resist the temptation of buying things on credit, without having the money in the bank to pay for them. The best way to deal with credit card temptation is to rethink how you use them in your life. While credit cards are not evil, they can become too much of a good thing. Just like you go on a diet to lose weight, you need to put yourself on a credit card diet. Leave the Credit Card at Home Take the credit card out of your wallet and keep it in a secure place in your home. This simple act will prevent you from making impulse purchases at the store. Only carry around enough cash to buy what you need on each shopping trip. Paying real cash money forces you to think about each item in your shopping cart. If you don't have the cash to pay for an item, you'll have to put it back on the shelf. Make a Shopping List Each time you go shopping, make a list of just the mandatory items that you must have. There is no room for frivolous extras on your credit card diet. Take the list with you and stick to it. This requires discipline, but if you want to take control again of your spending habits, you'll need to take a hard stand against spending money on unnecessary things you can live without. [ Home
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