How much interest are you really paying on your credit card?

Credit cards are like cell phones… we can’t imagine how we ever lived without them, but we sometimes wish we could get rid of them!

The one thing that so many of us do is to think we can’t do anything about our financial situation. This happens so often with credit cards… you get in deep and you can’t see a way out.

If someone offered to loan you $4000 and that it would cost you $2000 in interest charges, would you accept? Unfortunately most people pay it without even knowing it!

The average household carries about $4000 on their credit cards, paying 13% interest. To pay this off with the minimum monthly payment, it would take 2.5 years and cost almost $700 in interest.

$700 is a lot, but it gets worse. If you have a poor credit score, pay late, go over your limit, bounce a payment or even APPLY for a car loan or mortgage, many credit cards punish you and can increase your interest rate up to 28%!

At this rate, it would take over 3 years and cost over $2000 in interest! That’s highway robbery!

Next I’ll show you how to get out of this mess and make the credit card companies HELP YOU instead of helping themselves.

Get Inspired! See how others succeeded in paying down debt.

Oprah’s show on Monday, January 22, 2007 featured a group of young friends who started a money group to pay down their debt and take control of their money. They call themselves the Smart Cookies and though they’re smart, the real difference between us and them is that they took action!

So what is a Money Group aka Debt Club?

A money group or debt club is a group of people who get together to talk about saving money, how to pay down debt and ways to increase their income. The point of a money group is much like any other club… getting like-minded people together who share common goals and interests. In this case it’s to get a handle on your finances!

What does Oprah know about getting out of debt?

You might think Oprah was born rich, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. She’s lived at every level, from dirt-poor to beyond-your-dreams rich. Her story is unique, and we can’t all hope to be as successful as her, but one thing she believes in strongly is that everybody has the power to change their own lives.

So how do you go about changing your life and getting out of debt? Find out how much your spending, what you’re spending it on, pay down debt and start saving!

I’m starting on the Debt Diet!

If you haven’t heard of Oprah’s Debt Diet, now’s your chance to learn some easy tips for managing your debt.  I’ve decided to follow her Debt Diet since she’s broken it down into simple steps that anyone can follow.