Save money by calling your credit card companies and asking them to lower your rates.
It is a little-known secret that credit card companies don’t want you to know. If you call them and ask them to lower your rates, they might just do it. Of course, it helps if you are a good customer with a long history with the creditor and have good credit. It also helps to carry a moderate balance and make considerably more than the minimum payment each month. If the credit card company sees you as a low risk borrower and knows they receive monthly interest payments from you (i.e. you carry a moderate balance), they will want to keep you as a customer. More »
Pay off high interest rate credit cards first. It would seem that this would be a relatively common sense approach to paying down debt but many people do not even know which of their credit cards carries the highest interest rate.
To find out, call the number on the back of your credit card and ask the customer service representative what your current interest rate is. While you are on the phone, ask the representative to lower the rate, no matter what it is. More »
We’ve all heard this one before but I will say it again:
Pay more than the minimum credit card payment each month.
Paying more than the minimum payment on your credit card each month is so important because of the effects of compound interest on your balance. Add the fact that credit card rates border on usury these days, and paying only the minimum amount required by the credit card company can be disastrous. More »
