Don’t Let These Credit Card Debt Mistakes Make You Miserable

Let’s admit it… all of us make mistakes. Accidentally dyeing white bed sheets a vivid shade of pink in the washing machine? Yes. Setting off the fire alarm when attempting your first culinary experiment? Check. Thanked a waiter when told to enjoy your meal? Possibly. But while handling money and credit card debt in particular, all of us have made mistakes. Making the same silly mistakes again and again, shows that the time has come to stop it. While dealing with credit card debt we repeat the same mistakes again!

1. An Improbable Budget

To tackle that credit card debt, simply make a budget after ample research, prepare a scientific budget and be determined to follow it, but budgeting hiccups are inevitable. So why do you feel overcome by looming credit card debt after preparing a budget? There is no magical, cure-all budget for everybody. Your financial situation is unique, so finding a method that reflects your lifestyle is essential as your budget need not control you; you must tame the budget.

Don’t think about amounts payable for debt and income tax while making a budget. Consider outliers that make your carefully planned budget, a failure. How much time and energy can you devote? Are you a schedule-follower by nature, or a more go-with-the-flow kinda person? Are there conflicting obstacles within your budget, like irregular pay schedules? Finding a suitable budget will put you in control of your finances, including credit card debts.

2. Overpaying Monthly Bills

You’ve made a budget, checked it again so why wonder about where your money is going? It’s time to analyze which bills are taking more than their fair share of your money. Manual reviewing of every credit charge is cumbersome; let someone else do it. Download ‘TrueBill’, an app that negotiates your bills, cancels useless subscriptions and refunds your bank fees.

Another bill that makes you cringe every month? Your insurance bills are hard to swallow, but shopping for new rates is even worse. ‘Gabi’ does the work for you without filling any forms after linking up your insurance account and providing your driving license number. Gabi does the rest, comparing major insurer rates for the same coverage, and helps you switch immediately if it finds better rates. Once you reduce your monthly bills, you have some breathing room for repaying overdue credit card debts!

3. Why Overpay?

Credit card debt doesn’t mean you stop spending money on shopping, whether it’s at the grocery store for essentials or at the mall for a treat. Certain services help you feel less guilty every time you swipe that card by ensuring you get the best possible deal, somehow. ‘Paribus’ is a tool to get some money for online purchases. Signing up is free, and it scans your email for any received receipts. If a purchase is discovered from any monitored retailers, the purchased item’s price will be tracked and helps secure a refund if there’s a price drop. For once, do not clear out your inbox.

How to avoid overpaying if shopping online? Ebates, a cash-back shopping site rewards you for buying things online! You earn 1% to 25% on purchases from more than 2,500 online retailers. There’s no charge, and Ebates offers a $10 Walmart gift card as sign-up bonus.

4. Accumulating Unpaid Bills

Falling behind on bills payment is avoidable when dealing with credit card debt or any debt. What we need is some incentive to stay on track. The MoneyLion app offers rewards to help develop healthy financial habits and pays you for logging onto the app and connect to your bank accounts, credit cards and other financial accounts. Based on income and expenditure patterns, it offers personalized advice to save money, reduce debt and improve credit ratings. The app’s reward program gives points for being financially responsible. A loan payment on time gives 200 points. Points are redeemed then for gift cards at over 15,000 retailers, including Walmart, Applebee’s and Amazon.

5. Why Let Debt Take All Fun out of Life

Credit card debt is always on the mind, pops up uninvited and stresses one out. A money mantra that needs a fair trial, ensures that debt does not control you. You are responsible, make budgets and follow them; pay bills on time; and save on expenses. You must live your life without sacrificing any fun stuff. Your financial health is as important, just as your mental and physical health is.

Constantly watch for sneaky ways to save while enjoying your social life, like hosting happy hours at home instead of going out. And if you have time, find a side job that earns some income, but is also fun. Might we suggest dog walking?