Cleaning Up Your Credit Report

The phone was ringing off the hook with collections departments hassling me to pay my debts. It was definitely time to get my stuff in order and pay off my credit card debts for good. I had a decent job, so I figured I could turn it around fairly quickly, so I went to the internet to look for articles and advice on how to fix my situation.

I printed up all my credit card statements and just about had a heart attack! I had no idea my interest rates were so high! I now could see that the new dining room furniture set I’d just bought was costing me much more than I thought. It was time to really get this sorted out. I also didn’t know how bad my debt was, and quickly totaled it up to see the amount was in the $15,000 range.

One of the articles said the first step is to stop spending, and cut up your credit cards. So I sat down with a pair of scissors and went mad cutting those plastic cards to tiny pieces. I had a lot of fun and they were everywhere all over the floor. I had to get my dyson upright vacuum cleaner to clean it all up when I was finished.

Next, I organized my debts in order of which had the highest balance. The ones with the lowest balance were paid first, then I’d pay the minimum on the rest. This is called ‘Snowballing’ your debt. I successfully killed one card in the first month, and another the next, after that was a slow and steady progression of payments on all my cards. By the end of year 3, I had only two cards left to pay and had sliced my debt to almost nothing.

Next I phoned my remaining creditors and told them I was insisting they lower my credit rating. I told them if they didn’t, I’d move the balance to another card. After being transferred to different agents, both card issuers agreed, and I managed to get both APR’s down to only 8.9%! All I had to do was ask. This made paying the two cards off even easier since I wasn’t adding a big chunk of finance fees each month.

So now I’m a savvy spender, always paying with cash, and if it cost so much I need credit, I don’t need it that bad! I have two cards left open for emergencies, but the balance is firmly at zero. I won’t ever go back to those bad spending habits again.

Now life is virtually stress free without that cloud hanging over my head. I can rest easy in my full size loft bed every single night knowing my finances are in good shape.

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