In recent times in America the bankruptcy laws have been relaxed a little bit but it is not an easy process going bankrupt. And particularly in America more and more families are getting into financial difficulties. The reasons are many and varied but in the majority of cases it is the credit card bills that seem to dominate. We have been slowly educated to become credit card junkies and see no problem in buying something on the spur of the moment and putting it on the credit card. Even when our lives are in normal mode the average person is carrying to much credit card debt but when the crisis comes in the form of a lost job or emergency medical procedures our financial state is in ruins.

My parents brought me up avoiding credit completely. They would say to me “work out what you want in life and then save up the money to purchase it”. I think we have to get back to this way of living because the easily available credit is ruining many peoples lives. I myself ignored their teachings and got myself into a very difficult financial situation that took me four years of hard work to resolve and I am now determined that I will never again allow my life to be taken over by the credit card monster. We do keep one credit card now for emergency purposes and the balance is maintained at zero. In the event of an emergency we use the card and immediately take the steps necessary to repay the card as quick as possible.

Solving your personal financial problems will never occur overnight and there will always be some pain involved but it all depends on you. Hiding your head in the sand and ignoring your problems is never going to be a recommended method for dealing with your out of control credit card debts. Make the decision that you want to be debt free and get rid of your credit cards immediately. Consolidate your debts into your mortgage or into one loan facility and set yourself a target to get everything eliminated in four years. Pay everything into reducing your debt until all you have left is the mortgage and then concentrate on eliminating that. Most interest charges are done on a daily balance so making regular weekly payments on your loan is better that holding the money and paying monthly. The difference can be astonishing and I used this method to eliminate my debts and reduce my mortgage by over $50,000.

Remember if you approach your creditors before default you will be seen as a responsible customer who wants to pay the bills but is just experiencing some difficulty at the moment. If your creditors have to approach you after a default you will be seen as an irresponsible customer who is trying to avoid paying the bills and instead of getting their assistance in the time when you need it the most they will be threatening legal action against you and attempting to strip you of your assets.

Often the simplest solution is overlooked and if you have drawn up a budget and find that you are for example $500 a month short of meeting all your requirement then maybe you could consider another job. I don’t mean change jobs but getting another part time job to bring in the required amount until everything is under control again. In many cases the part time job is only necessary for a few months until the crisis has been knocked on the head.

If you have left your head in the sand and everything is getting beyond you then you should be consulting a debt guidance counselor to get the right advice for your situation. Most times this service can be provided to you free but it will depend on where you live.