On the other hand, like Paul, some people make poor credit decisions.
After Paul got his first card, shortly after graduating from college, he
suddenly became flooded with offers for more credit, which he promptly
took up. He wanted to show everyone that he was a success at his new
career as a sales manager, so he filled up all his credit cards.
Then he began the juggling game of “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” which
only got him deeper in debt. He took out a consolidation loan to pay off
all the cards and put the debts in one big payment, but the temptation
of all the empty cards was too much for him and he filled them all back
up again. He finally had to declare bankruptcy because he was so deeply
in debt that it was beyond his ability to ever pay off.
So, take a good look at what is going on in your life. Why do you have
credit problems? Are you in debt because of circumstances beyond your
control or is it a chronic situation? Are you still getting deeper into
debt or are you fixing the problem? There is no point in fixing your
credit if you will just end up losing it.
If you find that you are getting too deep in debt, there are several
things you can do right away to help the situation, before it gets out
of your control.
* Contact the credit card companies and see if they will work with you
to help lower the monthly payments.
* Talk to a nonprofit credit counseling company, like Consumer Credit
Counseling Service at http://www.cccsintl.org. They provide budget
counseling, educational programs, debt management assistance and housing
counseling. They have branches in many location of the United States.
Beware of some “for profit” organizations that will help you with debt
consolidation loans. Often they are very costly. Why go to them when you
can get free reliable help from a respected non-profit organization like
Consumer Credit Counseling Service?
There is no quick fix for credit problems, but with a little patience
and determination, you can not only get it under control, but you can
end up with great credit and the feelings of success and self-worth that
go along with it. So take the first step and determine to get debt free
today!
