Bills, payments, interest rates – - it can get complicated, and it can keep piling up. In April 2008, the Federal Reserve reported the U.S. total credit card debt to reach $951.7 billion, the highest amount ever recorded. And with worsening economic conditions and inabilities to make ends meet, we can understand why.

But you don’t have to add to that number. Preventing credit card debt is the key to unlocking your financial freedom from here on out, and we can provide you the simple, no-hassle ways of living in credit card debt-free paradise.

Step 1: initially, put a low limit on your credit card. Credit card companies may already assign you a low limit by virtue of the fact that it’s your first credit card, but if that limit is up to you to set, start low. It may get frustrating when you can’t purchase huge amounts on your credit card, but over the months you’ll understand how fast money goes and how easy it is to rack up a high bill. Putting a cap on your credit card spending will not only train to you to understand budgeting, but it will also proactively prevent you from charging more than you can afford for that month. Once you get the hang of having a credit card and paying your bills each month, you can gradually increase your limit.

Step 2: develop a sure-fire way to track your spending. Whether you religiously keep receipts, make endless charts on Excel, or write down your charges on the back of a napkin, seeing in writing the amount you spend day-to-day will give you a great sense of your credit card charging patterns. If you monitor your spending, you will never be surprised by your bill when it comes after you at the end of the month. Rather, you will know exactly the amount you have to pay, and you can plan for it. If you can foresee that your bill will be higher than what you had accounted for at the beginning of the month, then take on a few hours of overtime or give up a Saturday night to babysit – the key is knowing in advance what you have spent (by keeping track of your receipts and charges), and what you’ll need to come up with to pay it off.

Step 3: this is perhaps the most important, but most difficult, strategy to prevent credit card debt. At the end of each month, when it’s time to deplete your bank account and pay off last month’s credit card bill, pay the entire amount listed on your credit card statement. Your credit card terms will state, for example, that you only have to pay $10 of your bill. It’s tempting isn’t it – only paying $10 of this month’s $500 credit card bill? But the $490 will come back to haunt you. Next month, you will get charged interest on that $490, and with current interest rates being so exorbitant (they can charge up to 20% interest in some cases), instead of just paying the $500 for the month, you’ll owe $588 the next month, in addition to that month’s charges. And this will continue to compound and compound until you’re lying face down in a mountain of credit card debt. Simply paying the entire amount of your credit card bill every month prevents you from ever having to endure the wrath of interest rates and instead, leaves you debt-free each month. Yes, it might leave you with less money in your bank account for that month, but in the long run, getting charged interest on postponed payments will doom you to eternal credit card debt hell.

One way some choose to consolidate their debt is by applying for a home equity loan. By leveraging the value of your residence, you can receive the funds needed to pay off all your current credit card debt. However, this option leaves you with a huge risk: either pay off your home equity loan, or risk losing your house. If you default on your loan, the lender can potentially foreclose on your house, which ultimately is much worse than just having good old credit card debt to pay off. However, if you know for a fact you can pay off this loan in a reasonable amount of time, consolidating your debt this way should be quick and painless: you’ll quickly pay the debt you owe, and although now you’ll have to pay off your home equity loan, you’ll generally have a lower interest rate on the loan than you would have had on your credit cards.

Another, less risky option includes taking out a debt consolidation loan. Like a home equity loan, a debt consolidation loan allows you to take care of all your outstanding credit card bills at once; you get the loan, you pay off your debt, and then you make a single payment on that loan each month, rather than writing out separate bills for each of your credit cards. A word of caution, however: make sure the fees and rates associated with your loan truly are better than those associated with your current credit cards. Chances are, the rate they charge you won’t be so low since you’re not leveraging any of your assets (like you home, for example). Furthermore, make sure you compare prices and find the loan that’s right for you, or else you’ll continue to ensnare yourself in debt trouble down the road.

Finally, be wary of zero-percent credit cards. You’ll get offered credit cards that will entice you with no interest payments, so you think you’ll be able to pay off your credit card debt with one credit card that won’t charge you interest. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is. Once you miss one payment, that “zero-percent” rate will no longer be zero, and then you’re back to the same debt spiral you were trying to get yourself out of in the first place. Furthermore, hidden fees and costs are also important to watch out for when something like a zero-percent credit card sounds too good to be true.

You cannot be blamed for sure.  Most of the credit card companies offer irresistible packages whenever you get a credit card from them.   Free annual fees, additional airlines mileage or discount to merchant stores are some of these offers.  However,  with all of these marketing highlights, a customer should be informed of the actual cost it will take to own and use the card.  The real interest rate is one of the important credit card debt facts to consider.  Some will declare imposing low interest rates but with hidden charges on some conditions.  As neophyte on card usage, you will usually fall into this trap of enjoying a low initial interest rate.  It will be much later on when you have become a veteran spender that you will be presented the real deal of a higher interest rate in the succeeding months.  This is one major feature to watch out for, or better yet, not to fall for.

Another dirty trick on the interest rate arena is that some card issuers charge two rates based on the type of balance that you keep.  If you do not intend to pay the total amount due in full for a given month, and have a certain balance ‘roll over’ to the succeeding month, there usually is a separate interest rate for this transferred balance.  Add to that the rate imposed on recently purchased items and you will be dealing with a lot more than you expected.

It is also important to analyze the credit card’s grace period and cut-off period.  If you are not smart enough, you will be outwitted by those who will start charging interest right at the day  you bought the item.  Ideally, a fair length of time of 25 days a grace period should be given for you to pay off your credit card balance before it starts accruing interest.  Without the grace period, you will end up owing the credit card company some cash even after payment every month.  Sad to say but true indeed, these are just some ugly credit card debt facts to be wary about.

Fees are another way for credit card agencies to pull in revenues.  Late fees are mercilessly charged, regardless of reasons, for being late for payment for say, even a day.  And this fees are enormous, as it affects the entire rate for the whole balance.  The late fees are separately calculated and are charged on a per day basis, depending on how many days the payment got late.

Awareness on the pros and cons of credit card use is a major debt help  to become a responsible consumer and avoid negative debt consequences..  This should be the main goal of credit card agencies before luring young or innocent Americans to their products.

• Whatever money you owe, if you have an APR of – arbitrarily speaking – 19%, that means that on whatever you owe, at the end of the year, you will have to pay back 19% of the total bill.  But, interest is collected monthly.  So, it’s dangerous because you’re paying SO much interest on a monthly payment that could be high already.  That’s how people get so caught up in debt.
• If your interest was 0% when you signed up for the credit card, the second that you miss a payment in full, interest might completely jump to a phenomenal number.  That’s the way credit cards make their money.  They’re banking on your failure to come true to your debt.  That’s why it’s so important NOT to get in debt.
• You can argue and try to decrease interest rates, especially with credit card companies, because they do want your business.  So, if you’re confident that you can continue to pay, call them up and say “9% doesn’t do it for me, drop me to 7%.”  If they want to keep you, they’ll do it.  They can afford to do it.  They can’t afford to lose you.

Interest is a tricky game.  Interest is tacked on and continues to be tacked on to whatever debt you have which is why it’s so hard to get OUT of debt.  But, if you work hard on it and really focus on it, getting out of debt does not need to be an impossible task.  It really can be as easy as cutting up your credit card and paying large chunks of money a month.  I hope this clears up how interest rates work.

Whether or not there are benefits to such offers (and there’s aren’t many, if any) if you came to this page, you’d probably love to know how to get them to stop.  When I found out how, I was getting 4-5 pre approved offers a day!  It was filling up my mailbox and wasting my time since I had to make sure none of them were real cards I needed to shred.

If you are in debt, then having all of these extra credit cards is probably not the best idea.  In my debt reduction tips I talk about how you should cut up your credit cards, not add more to your collection.

So, anyhow, here’s how to stop pre approved credit card offers:

1) You can call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) and they will guide you through the process of opting out.

or

2) You can go online to OptOutPreScreen.com and you can fill out a form online or print out and mail in a form.

I have not used the phone number, but when I used the website, I was able to choose between opting out for 5 years or opting out permanently.  I chose to opt out permanently because I didn’t want to have to go through the process to stop the pre approved credit card offers anymore.

Also, it’s not a fact, but I have heard that it can increase your credit score a little bit, since it is seen as less of a risk if you aren’t receiving those offers anymore.  Whether or not it does increase your credit score, it definitely can’t hurt you!

I recently missed a credit card payment, not because I didn’t have the money, but because I just forgot. (How many people have been in that position?) They called me the day after it was due, I explained the situation, and paid the money immediately. They didn’t care. My credit card interest rate went from 12.99% to 28.99% and my monthly payment increased by 66%! When you make a budget and are trying to stick to it while trying to pay off your debt, such an increase is brutal, let alone the amount of my monthly payment being applied to the principle was much lower. Can you feel the struggle?

So, I called them, explained the situation while apologizing for missing the payment. I told them that I had gone two and a half years without a missed payment and that I paid as soon as they told me about the overdue payment. That didn’t work. They said it would be about a year until they could lower my credit card interest rates.

So, I just gave up. A month or so later, I was telling my co-worker about it and she encouraged me to keep calling the credit company, and I’ll finally get someone who will lower my credit card interest rate. I didn’t believe her and I didn’t really try it. The next week, she asked if I called, and I told her I didn’t because it probably wouldn’t work, but she kept pushing that I should call… so I did.

And I only called once, and the lady I spoke with lowered my credit card’s interest rate! Not only did she lower my interest rate, but she made it lower than it was BEFORE I missed a payment (10.99%… a whole percent lower!). Plus, she refunded my late payment fee and the extra interest I paid in that month or so that it was at the higher rate! Can you feel the relief that I felt? I would have been happy with 23%, 19%, or 16%… anything lower than 28.99%!

Long story short… keep calling. You will get someone who is willing and able to help you reduce your credit card interest rate, especially if it’s a high rate. Don’t give up… if you have to wait a week and try again, do it! You won’t regret it!