How To Handle The Holiday Bills And Stay Sane!

Now that Christmas is over, unfortunately the bills along with anxiety, depression, shortness of temper, fear, and loneliness will roll in like the New Year. Consumer Credit Card Counseling Services (CCCS) reports the following statistics:

It is estimated that, on average, 20% of Americans have “maxed out” their credit cards.
About 25% of adults in the United States have a history of credit problems.
Americans’ average credit card debt is $8400 per household.
Roughly 24% of personal expenditures in the United States are made using bank credit cards, retail cards, and debit cards.
In the first quarter of 2002, total credit debt was $660 billion. Total credit card debt was approximately $60 billion.
Approximately 185 million American consumers have at least one credit card.
Of those 185 million consumers with credit cards, 1.3 million credit card holders declared bankruptcy in 2002.
Americans pay, on average, an 18.9% interest rate on credit cards.
The average household pays $83.33 in credit card interest per month.
On average, the typical credit card purchase is 112% higher than if using cash.
More than 40% of American families spend more than they earn. (Federal Reserve).
As of 1995, 92% of American family disposable income is spent on paying debts, up from 65% in 1975. (Federal Reserve)
An $8,000 debt, at a rate of 18% interest, will take over 25 years to pay off and cost more than $24,000 in the long run. [1]

One of the things I am most grateful for this year is getting out of debt (see my December 21 post). It was very anxiety provoking for me to go to the mailbox and hold my breath while I opened my bills and wondered if the payment I sent arrived in time. The spiral effect of sending in a late payment escalating the interest rates on my other debts including my mortgage(s) loomed heavily in my mind.

What worked for me was 1) faith in God, praying, 2) thanking God for what I did have (food, health, shelter, family and friends), 3) tithing (yes, giving 10% to the church, even when I didn’t have enough to pay all my bills), 4) giving an offering, 5) paying my bills even if it was the minimum amount and 6) working at whatever opportunity that came my way.

I know many individuals lack the discipline to persevere when it seems like all hope is gone. It is difficult to pay your bills when friends are buying every new gadget that comes on the market and you sometimes feel you are not a good parent if you don’t buy your child that expensive toy that every kid wants. But, look at the statistics above. Would you rather disappoint your child or yourself now or later when you tell them you have to move because your house is facing foreclosure? What legacy will you then leave for your children?

For those who don’t have the discipline, I would recommend that you contact CCCS. It is a nationwide nonprofit service that offers free and confidential budget, credit, and housing counseling plus debt repayment plans. They have been in business since 1964 helping people pay their bills.

CCCS professional counselors offer individual, confidential advice for developing budgets, managing money, using credit wisely and building a savings plan. Their advisors will review your current situation and collaborate with you to determine the best possible financial strategies, offering solutions to your current financial problems as well as personalized plans for preventing financial pitfalls in the years to come.

For individuals and families who are overextended, CCCS offers assistance through its Debt Management Plan (DMP). The DMP is a systematic way to pay down your outstanding debt through monthly deposits to CCCS, which in turn distributes these funds to your creditors. CCCS works with clients and creditors alike to design a debt repayment program that will minimize monthly payments, interest and related fees, providing a manageable, tailored plan for each of its clients.

By participating in this program, you may benefit from reduced or waived finance charges and fewer collection calls, and when you have completed your payments, we'll help you reestablish your credit. Ultimately, DMPs serve the dual purpose of helping you repay debts and helping your creditors receive the money owed them.

This service, which is available in English or Spanish, will help you develop and manage your own plan so that you can do more with what you have. Call toll-free for a free budget counseling session today at 1-800-251-CCCS (2227). If you want our help in stopping collector calls and dropping interest rates, if you want peace of mind knowing that you have a plan to get out of debt, call CCCS or start an o­nline counseling session immediately at http://www.cccsatl.org/.

Let’s start the New Year off right and become the Winner at life you were designed to be.
Stay Blessed!
Joyce
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[1] http://creditcounselingbiz.com/credit_counseling_statistics.htm