This is a guest post by Garrett Driscoll from Debt Eagle. Visit his site if you are having credit card debt problems, need advice on settling, or are considering bankruptcy.

Filing for bankrupcty can sometimesbe the best bet for someone with unpayable credit card balances.

A credit card bankruptcy can lower monthly expenses, stop interest from accruing, and give you time to restructure your debt without fear of legal repercussions. The credit card bankruptcy process can give financial relief, but does come at the expense of your credit and your assets.

When you file for bankruptcy your credit will be affected for a span of 7 to 10 years. This might make it more difficult to borrow money, rent a home, or even get a job.

You may lose certain assets to your creditors, but if you are facing credit card debt that is no longer manageable, it still might be the best move.

A few years ago it was much easier to eliminate credit card debt through a chapter 7 bankruptcy. But in 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Act was passed and made it more difficult to charge off credit card debt and other unsecured debts.

Chapter 7 can be a good option for someone with minimal assets to protect from a liquidation (i.e. home, car). It can give debtors a fresh start, but will still leave a big ding on their credit reports. After a chapter 7 filing, a debtor’s assets are liquidated by a judge and the proceeds are divided among the creditors.

After the assets are sold and the proceeds doled out, a debtor would be completely debt free. But since the 2005 law, any monthly income that exceeds $100/mo. will disqualify a debtor from filing Chapter 7.

The courts will conduct a “means test” to determine what your expendable monthly income is. If you have over $100 or more in extra income per month, you would not be able to completely discharge your debts through chapter 7 and would only be able to set up a repayment program through chapter 13.

Can a credit card company stop my bankruptcy?

When a bankruptcy goes to court, a credit card company may try and stop the discharge of debt by filing an “adversary proceeding”. Usually this is due to instances of fraud.

The company might claim that a debtor applied for a card with false info or that they made charges without any intent of repayment.

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If a person made a large amount of charges after they sought help from a Bankruptcy Attorney, or there was an indication that the they made charges with the intent to dismiss them in court, your judge might consider the creditors side.

But, once the bankruptcy is finalized, you may not be sued over these debts.

Can Chapter 13 bankruptcy help with credit card debt?

With chapter 13 bankruptcy (AKA: wage earner’s bankruptcy) you are allowed to keep certain assets (house, car, etc.), while making a reduced payment to your creditors.

This type of proceeding allows people with an income (of $100/mo or more), to create a repayment plan over a typical period of 3-5 years.

A Chapter 13 filing can stop foreclosure for a period of time and can allow the debtor to catch up on delinquent mortgage payments.

Another important thing about chapter 13, with regard to credit card debt, is that interest will stop accruing. The interest on your credit card balances will come to a halt and you can begin to repay the outstanding debt.

This means that there are no more balance increases after you file for bankruptcy. Sometimes dealing with this debt through bankruptcy can be easier than with non-consumer friendly terms on many of these cards.

Once you have a repayment plan in place, a trustee is appointed by the courts to make payments to these creditors on your behalf. All of the creditors are paid by the trustee out of one single monthly payment made by the debtor.

Is bankruptcy expensive?

The court filing of the chapter 7 and chapter 13 paperwork costs around $300, but this does not include the price of a lawyer.

Internet consensus puts the entire package of a bankruptcy (legal help included) at at around $1000-$3000, but the price will vary depending on your lawyer and type bankruptcy you are filing.

You may be able to get a slight break, if you can negotiate installments to pay your legal fees. But if you are able to get rid of alot of debt, that bankruptcy can pay for itself.

Counseling before bankruptcy

The 2005 Bankruptcy laws also state that any individual seeking bankruptcy, must receive mandatory credit counseling. This applies to both chapter 7 and chapter 13.

This counseling must be sought through a government approved company within the 6 month period before the filing. The debtor must also complete debt education classes in order to have their debts dismissed.

Usually these courses can be very beneficial and help debtors understand the ins and outs of the bankruptcy process before they file.

This is important because these are complex financial actions and can seriously affect the filees future. The more knowledge you can gain about this process, the more prepared you will be.

Note from Jason: Bankruptcy has grown in popularity in recent times.  In my opinion, you should never rush into bankruptcy and it should almost always be a last resort after careful and prayerful consideration.  A heartcheck regarding your motivations for bankruptcy is wise also.  Everyone’s situation is different, so make sure you take a full inventory of your options before a bankruptcy is considered.  Check out this Credit Card Payoff Calculator to give you an idea of how long it will take to pay off your debt.

This was an original post I did on credit card mistakes at ChristianPF.com.  I’ve adapted it a little for my site.

We all make mistakes, it’s in our nature. 

Sometimes we make them because we don’t know any better – other times we make them even though we do.

Most of us have made pretty big flubs with the plastic – I know I have - so it’s always good to get some helpful reminders on handling credit cards so we can avoid mistakes and eliminate credit card debt.

You can definitely get out of credit card debt completely by avoiding some of these credit card mistakes:

Not Realizing You Have Credit Card Problems

Okay, this sounds silly, how can you not recognize that you have credit card problems? 

Here’s how: 

I spent the majority of my college years and shortly after living the high life without any regard to the thousands of dollars I was racking up!

I spent the rest of the time out of college trying to eliminate my credit card debt!

I didn’t even realize that I had a credit card problem.  I just figured this was a normal part of existence and that once I made more money, then I would pay off that debt! 

No big deal right?

Little did I realize that I needed to make some drastic changes!  Get real with yourself and ask if you’ve got some spending issues.

Credit card debt help comes in the form of helping yourself first and realizing you have a problem and need to eliminate debt!

Not Paying Attention to Due Dates

This recently happened to me.  I got my email notification of the statement, logged it in the back of my mind that I needed to pay that bill and unfortunately got busy and never bothered to pull that statement out of the back of my mind until two days after the bill was due.  I plain forgot!

I know what you’re thinking – just automate your bill pay! 

Yes, I should do that, but I do like  to take a look at what’s on the statement and make sure everything’s correct.

This kind of forces me to do that. 

Making a late payment even if it is only by a few days can rack up ridiculous charges that only compound your debt. 

Those annoying charges can also have an impact on your credit scores. 

Being vigilant about paying your debt and paying it on time is key to eliminating your credit card debt.

Not Paying Your Bill in Full Each Month

This is where it all begins doesn’t it?  You’re a willing victim to the crazy cycle. 

You buy something you can’t afford and think, “I get paid in two weeks, I’ll just put it on the credit card and as soon as I get the bill I will pay it off” and then something else comes up. 

Emergencies happen or you find some other trinket you want to buy and you put that on your credit card too.  At the end of the of the month you receive a hefty bill. 

What do you do? 

If you only pay what you can and wind up leaving a balance on the card that accrues interest at insane amounts, you’re asking for trouble and perpetuating the cycle! 

Just think, with a little discipline and some self control you could’ve avoided unnecessary spending and used that money to open a Roth IRA or fund some other type of investment account.

If you want to eliminate your credit card debt, you must stop adding new charges and begin paying your bill in full each month.

Not Negotiating With Credit Card Companies

It puzzles me that more people don’t call their card companies to ask for credit card debt help.  

What I mean is that you can negotiate things like interest rates, late payment fees or even payment plans.  

If nothing else, it doesn’t hurt to give them a call and find out what they can do for you. 

The person who never asks, never receives.  Now of course there is no guarantee that the credit card company will do anything, but wouldn’t it be nice to know if they were willing to do something?  

Eliminating credit card debt is not easy, but don’t make it harder on yourself by making simple mistakes that can easily be avoided.

Other Tips?

Readers, what other tips would you offer to eliminate credit card debt?

Want to know how long it will take you to pay off your credit cards?  Check out my Credit Card Payoff Calculator!

Do Credit Card Balance Transfers Make Sense for You?

Do you own several credit cards from different providers?

Do these cards have high interest rates and are you carrying loads of debt?

If you answered yes then more likely than not you are having a hard time trying to juggle payments and organize a solid payback plan.

This scenario sounds all too familiar for many people and can be incredibly stressful for those involved.

If you are having difficulties with your current cards then one of your options can be credit card balance transfers to a provider that has a lower interest rate.

The benefit to this is that you hopefully you reduce the amount of interest you are paying and give yourself a more manageable payment.

You can use this handy Credit Card Payoff Calculator to determine your new payment and how long it will take to climb out of debt!

How to Initiate Credit Card Balance Transfers

The first step to successful credit card balance transfers is to find a company that offers a low interest rate.

There are several options available to you and a good place to start looking is on the Internet, many websites provide a comparison chart that lists the pros and cons of each credit card.

Jason here – I suggest calling your current card companies first and letting them know you are interested in a balance transfer deal and see what they can do for you.

They might be willing (or have some promotions going on) to negotiate to keep your business.

Or, for instance, if you go to the corporate website of the provider you may find a list of their best credit card deals currently on offer.

Remember to find out as much information relating to balance transfers as you can.

Questions to Ask About Credit Card Balance Transfers

Here’s a few questions you’ll want to find out before you initiate your credit card balance transfers:

• Is there an introductory rate and if so how long does it last?
• When this introductory rate ends, what is the new increased rate?
• Is there a fee for balance transfers?
• Is there an annual card fee?

You might be able to find some zero percent balance transfer deals out there.

Try to find more than one good deal on balance transfers, as the next step is to apply to the credit card companies and you are not always guaranteed approval.

You will have to go for companies that you’ve never used in the past; many credit card providers will automatically refuse applicants that already have a card with them.

Once you’ve successfully completed your credit card balance transfers, moved the balances of all of your current credit card accounts into one, then stop using the old cards or cut them up - you’re now on your way to paying off your credit cards!

Choosing a credit card provider with a good balance transfer rate can be frustrating, so here are a couple I have used in the past from a well known company, but at the end of the day – do your own research!

Different cards are right for different people.

1. MBNA Platinum Plus Amex card.
2. MBNA Rate for Life card.

This has been a guest post by Sandra from Thinking Money - a site designed for getting free financial advice and ideas on how to save and make money.

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Have you ever wondered what your credit card payoff would be? 

In other words, how long will it take at your current rate and payment to payoff credit card debt!?

Some of us probably don’t want to know because we don’t want to get depressed. 

But it’s actually a good idea to see what exactly you need to do to get rid of that credit card debt faster!

I stumbled upon a mortgage site that has a ton of calculators to use, so below you’ll find one that I thought might be helpful in calculating your credit card payoff.

Before you jump right in, consider these three reasons why you should calculate your credit card payoff:

To Get a Reality Check on Your Credit Card Debt

I remember back in college when I first started making credit card mistakes and racking up debt I had a relaxed attitude towards it.  It just wasn’t a big deal for me – that is until I started getting deeper and deeper in debt.

I needed a reality check on my current situation to understand the devastating affects of credit card debt!  Seeing how long it will take you to payoff credit card debt will give you that reality check!

To Motivate You to Payoff Your Credit Card Debt

Hopefully what that reality check will do is then motivate you to start getting rid of credit card debt faster!  Getting “gazelle-like-intensity” as Dave Ramsey likes to call it!

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To Help You Understand the Dangers of Credit Card Debt

Credit cards are wild beasts that need to be tamed!  Do you believe that?  They really are. 

If you’ve got a relaxed attitude about your credit cards and don’t really seem to care (like many people I talk to) you need a quick wake up call to see the dangers of credit card debt!

So go ahead, type in your situation in the Credit Card Payoff Calculator below and see what your credit card payoff really is!

What Is Your Credit Card Payoff?

Care to share your results with us below?  Let’s motivate each other to pay off those credit cards!!!

This economic recession has been a good thing for many people even though it’s been hard to go through.  Many folks are looking for ways to pay off credit card debt, become debt-free and start saving more, which is a great thing.

It can be a little overwhelming if you’ve been thinking about developing a plan to get out of credit card debt. 

It’s important to remember that eliminating credit card debt or getting out of debt period is always simple, but rarely – if ever – easy.

So, what should you do if you want to get on the path to debt freedom?  Take a look at these steps:

Take Inventory of Your Current Situation

Gather each credit card statement and write down the name of the card, the balance, interest rate, minimum payment due and the amount you are currently paying toward that debt.

If you’re married, this should be done with your spouse.  After all, managing your finances is a joint venture. 

You would be amazed at how many couples I come across that do not know that the other one has credit card debt or are unaware at how bad the problem is.

Stop Over-Spending

Most financial plans start with this piece of advice.  If there’s one thing you must do to get ahead financially it’s to spend less than you make or make more than you spend. 

I tend to focus on expenses first because it’s often easier to cut back than to make more money.  Making more money can be done, but requires a little more time and energy. 

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Call to Negotiate Your Credit Card Debt

I am amazed at how often this is overlooked. Many companies are willing to work with you if you approach them and let them know that you are wanting to pay off your debt, especially in this economy, where many people are not paying their bills at all. 

Depending on your history with them, you might be able to negotiate lower rates and better terms. 

I suggest calling your card company and be honest with them. I would ask for a manager right away or an account closing specialist so that you get straight to the decision-maker that can help you.

Let them know your situation and ask them if they can reduce the interest rate for you.

If they are unwilling to help you, get transferred to the account closing specialist and let them know that you will transfer the balance to another company if they cannot work with you.  

You should be prepared to have some balance transfer offers in hand to follow through on this and consolidate your credit card debt as well.

Snowball the Debt

Some people believe you should pay off your highest interest card first. I tend to disagree.

I think snowballing your debt is more of a confidence builder and can start some fast momentum towards getting you out of debt.

According to Dave Ramsey the best way to knock out debt is to get some quick wins under your belt because “personal finance is 20% head knowledge and 80% behavior!”

The first step in snowballing your debt is to pay minimum payments on all your credit cards except the one with the lowest balance.

You pay as much as you can on that amount until that debt is gone and then you take whatever that payment was and apply that towards the next smallest balance.

Each time you pay off a debt, apply that payment to the next smallest card and before you know it you will have created some great momentum and will see the progression at a more rapid pace.

Get Some Accountability

Getting out of credit card debt is not easy and it won’t happen over night. It will take discipline, sacrifice and patience, but the results will be worthwhile.

This is why you need to find someone who can keep you accountable for your goals.  Whether it be a financial coach, financial advisor, a friend or family member, a pastor at church – it doesn’t matter who so much as it does getting someone to do it.

They’ll encourage you when you want to give up and they’ll hold you to what you’ve committed to do.  

Thoughts?

What do you think of these tips?  Is there anything you’d suggest adding?

The new credit card rules that President Barack Obama came up with are supposed to eradicate many ill effects of credit cards that earlier created nuances in the life of debtors.

But the question is whether the new credit card information will be fruitful enough for those who are in college or below 21years old?

Glancing through the primary changes of the new law, you can be satisfied with the manner it deals with the earlier prevalent ill practices.

No doubt a change can be noted in the areas of rapid increase of interest rates on outstanding balances, the problem of double-cycle billing and carry-over balance billing.

And the good news is that there are changes in the provision for the college students too.

Although previously the rules were pretty flexible and you could have collected lines from banks or lenders at easy terms, now it will not be so.

The new regulation binds you in certain chains for your own benefit. Take a look at some of the new credit card information:

Lower Credit Limits

Earlier the credit cards that were available did not offer the students any special privileges of low interest. It was not given considering the paying ability of the student.

Thus you may end up with a huge loan which becomes almost impossible to pay back. What resulted was that you are under the clutches of debt before you leave college.

With the new law there is a restriction on your credit limit. If you are under the age of 21, you need to show a steady income source. You should also make sure to have the signature of a parent in your form.

Expense Limits

It is true that the loans are very helpful for the students to meet their regular expenses. But it has been observed that due to the imbalanced utilization of the resources they often get into debt problems. The rule will put a check on the students’ credit card expense level.

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Improved Credit Scores

Since these new rules will help lower your debt level, your credit score will improve. You can look forward to applying for a loan if you need to without any second thought.

The rule discourages students from having many credit cards open at one time, which leads you to multiple debts. If you have fewer credit cards, you will generally have a greater knowledge of your expenses. This can help you to reduce the amount of debt you carry and keep a check on it.

Finally, if you can manage to get some low interest credit cards after careful market research you can enjoy some extra benefits too.

At the primary level the new rules may seem to be too restricting and full of limitations.

According to many, it does not solve the problem altogether because it does not apply to the amount you have already spent. It may also have a negative approach as it may result in an increased dependency on payday lenders and pawnshops. However, if you follow the new rules it is definitely going to bring a change.

Being debt free after college, having a good credit score and balanced credit card behavior will yield a good result for a lifetime.  Your small initiative now may make you rich someday if are your prudent in your decisions. It is all about starting well at some point.

This has been a guest post by Nina Roberts - a financial content writer and blogger working with Oak View Law Group.

A long time ago and in a land far far away… well actually it was 1980 and my wife and I, as newlyweds, just moved to Alaska—this is a true story.

I was working for a financially secure and slightly older gentleman who, one day as I was passing by his office, called me in and asked me an interesting question. “What’s the difference between a rich man and a poor man?”

Being young and just starting my career, I thought the answer was rather obvious and so I quipped, “one has a lot of money and the other one doesn’t.” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

However, his response back, was somewhat surprising:

The Lesson of the $100 Bill

He stated that the difference between a rich man and a poor man was a $100 bill. He asked me if I had one.

“No,” I answered. He then asked, “how many people out on the street walking around right now do you think have a $100 bill in their wallet, pocket or purse.” I responded, “probably not very many.” He said, “my point exactly.”

He then took his wallet out of his pocket and pulled from it a $100 bill and handed it to me and said, “put this in your wallet, keep it there and know that you have more money in your wallet than most people do, and that if a small emergency comes up, you’ll be okay.”

So I gratefully put the bill into my wallet and left. You know, I actually did feel rather rich, and knowing that a $100 bill could cover about any minor emergency that could come up, like running out of gas or an unexpected business lunch with co-workers or whatever it might be; I really was covered. Back then my wife and I didn’t have a credit card or debit card—just cash and a checking account, and for some reason my wife said I wasn’t allowed to carry the checkbook.

Two weeks had passed, and I was again passing by his office, he called me in and asked if I still had the $100 bill he’d giving me. I lowered my head and said, “the other day I was low on gas and didn’t have any money so I used it to fill the car up.

Once I had broken the bill the remainder went rather quickly.” He chuckled and pulled out his wallet again and handed me another $100 bill and said, “see if you can make this one last longer this time.”

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My first thought was, this isn’t a bad deal we have going here, but he quickly said that this was the last one he was going to give me. Well, again I was back on top of the world feeling rich. This time I kept the bill for almost 6 months before I needed to use it, once again, once it was broken it went fast.

Let’s now fast forward to 2010 where a large percentage of the population of the U.S. carries either a credit card, debit card or some other form of a charge card. Who carries cash anymore?

I went into a Subway the other day and ordered their six-inch, special-of-the-day sandwich, which was only $2.99, and I had to use my debit card to pay because I didn’t even have $3 on me. Is it any wonder that so many people are having financial struggles? Not only because of the current economy but also because of what seems to be an endless supply of money that we really don’t have—credit. This idea of credit, can at some point, come back to bite us hard if we don’t manage it correctly. Here are some interesting credit card statistics.

Credit Card Issuer Statistics

Total cards in circulation in U.S.

• Visa credit: 309 million, as of June 30, 2009 (Source: Visa.com)
• Visa debit: 352 million, as of June 30, 2009 (Source: Visa.com)
• MasterCard credit: 211 million, as of September 30, 2009 (Source: MasterCard.com)
• MasterCard debit: 130 million, as of September 30, 2009 (Source: MasterCard.com)
• American Express credit: 54 million, as of December 31, 2008 (Source: AmericanExpress.com)
• Discover credit: 57.1 million, as of December 31, 2008 (Source: Discover.com)

Americans currently owe $917 billion on revolving credit lines and $69 billion of it is past due, according to the latest Federal Reserve statistics. (Source: www.consumerreports.org, September 2009)

Spending Habits and Controlling Your Money

What’s the biggest difference between now and 30 years ago regarding our spending habits? Yes, 30 years ago many people used credit cards, but many people also carried cash in their wallets. A credit card was only supposed to be used for emergencies or for purchasing large dollar items, limiting the need to carry around large amounts of cash, knowing however, that when the bill came due, it was to be paid off in full, monthly.

So when your cash ran out, buying something else wasn’t an option, you just made do without. People back then understood how easy it would be to get into trouble financially using credit cards excessively. People also know this today; however the idea of doing without, if you don’t have the cash to pay for it immediately, or saving towards purchasing it at a later date ,when you can pay for it in full, has been lost or at least conveniently forgotten.

This idea is still sound financial advice today. When the money is gone, make due with what you have and go without until you have the money to purchase it outright.

How to Stay Away From Financial Trouble

An excellent way to keep yourself from getting into financial trouble is to create a budget and then track your expenses daily.

There are several ways to do this. Create a budget on paper and then jot down, in a note pad, your daily expenses. This is inexpensive but somewhat time consuming.

Another, more efficient way is personal finance software; either a desktop application or an online service. Read “Online Finance Software vs. Desktop Finance Software” to get a better understanding of the pros and cons of both of them. Online personal finance software allows you to easily create a budget and then automatically download your daily transactions.

When your purchases are in excess or getting close to exceeding your budget, you’ll receive an email or text alert warning you to rein in your spending. This will help you stay in control of your money, instead of it controlling you.

Want to feel great each day even if you do have financial stress; since fewer people carry cash these days compared to 30 years ago, tuck a $100 bill into the bottom of your wallet or purse and know that you have more money on you, than most people you’ll meet and pass each day.

Also, see if you can make your $100 bill last longer than 2 weeks or 6 months. It truly is a great feeling.

This has been a guest post from Brent Ropelato from PersonalFinanceManagementSoftware.com, which helps you eliminate debt, track expenses, manage your money, plan for retirement and more.

It is an epic battle, one waged since the dawn of time…well not quite that long, but the battle between credit card rewards and credit card debt is one which polarizes people the world over.

But today we end it with a duel – en guard!

The Strengths of Knight Reward

Knight Reward is often accused of being an underhanded competitor – offering the possibility of the carrot, only to beat you with his stick.

Well you can avoid being beaten and get a hold of the prized carrot if you know how to play to the strengths of credit card rewards.

How to use a credit card for the rewards:

A rewards credit card must be used with a high interest savings account fighting alongside.

Knight Rewards’ most famous battle cry is the fact that credit cards can be used throughout the month, during their interest free days, for all purchases while your salary is in a high interest savings account accruing interest, or is in an offset account linked to your home loan, offsetting the interest you will have to pay on your mortgage in the month.

To be given the chance to win, your credit card must be allowed to fight, and to combat the high annual fees which often come with rewards credit cards, you will need to be spending at least $2,000 each month on your credit card before you consider going in to battle alongside Knight Rewards, to accumulate enough points to make you eligible for rewards which will compensate you for these fees.

You must always clean your sword before returning it to its sheath.

If you fail to pay your rewards credit card balance back to zero before the end of the interest free period, even the fearless Knight Rewards won’t be able to save you – you’ll be ensconced in interest and monthly repayments which will override the value of any rewards you may earn.

However, using a credit card and paying it down to zero each month gives you a strong credit report and shows your financial responsibility.

Choose a rewards credit card which actually allows you to earn rewards.

Some rewards credit cards are drawing you into a battle you’re bound to lose with unrealistic terms, conditions and usage periods for your rewards points.

However, there are many credit cards which will offer you the chance to choose gift vouchers or fuel vouchers with the points you have built up in your spending and some gold cards will also allow you to earn two points for every one dollar you spend.

Know the rules of the credit card battle.

If your rewards points do expire, make sure you can easily keep track of them and cash them in for rewards before you lose them. Also make sure that the rewards you can earn are ones you actually want, and that you are given choices between charity donations or cookbooks, movie tickets or a hair straightener.

A savvy purchaser can deftly avoid interchange fees. Some rewards credit cards will attract a higher interchange fee, but most Australian retailers will advise you of this additional fee before processing the purchase – therefore, look for a credit card with a companion card which attracts lower interchange fees.

For example, take a Mastercard or Visa into battle with a companion American Express card, AmEx can earn you higher rewards, while fighting in a tag team with Mastercard or Visa to avoid high interchange fees. An informed credit card user also knows interchange fees are just one of the many costs of doing business.

He’s put up a good fight, but is it enough to allow Knight Rewards to maintain his dominance on the credit card battlefield?

The Strengths of Challenger Avoid

Challenger Avoid is a somewhat meek competitor – taking the road of least resistance in the battle and in risking nothing, he attracts no ire.

Challenger Avoid knows his weaknesses and if you’ve identified similar weaknesses then you may choose to fight alongside the stoic warrior Avoid.

Avoiding credit card battles:

The cost of not-so-innocent interchange fees is just too high.

Avoid is proud to fight the good fight on behalf of all consumers and holds strong to his belief that interchange fees which merchants are charged to accept credit cards are a cost passed onto all buyers, regardless of their payment method.

Challenger Avoid will avoid credit card use to save himself from the costs of interchange fees, while hoping the decreased use of credit cards will decrease the cost of interchange fees to businesses, and in turn customers.

The battle of the credit cards preys on the weak.

Challenger Avoid chooses not to fall victim to the seemingly enticing deals which he believes are only a clever disguise to get him deeper into debt, in turn earning the credit card companies more interest.

Challenger Avoid knows the credit card companies don’t ever want him to pay off his balance, and chooses not to spend an eternity being encouraged to spend.

Know Your Credit Card Habits

Knowing your spending habits helps you responsibly avoid bad debt. If you have faced past battles with credit card debt and lost, or you don’t want to tempt yourself to spend money which is not yours, Avoid encourages you to not show your weakness to the credit card companies.

If you don’t think you can pay off your credit card to zero each month, or only use it for essential purchases, then the best way to ensure you stay debt free is to avoid the temptation to use credit.

A doppelganger debit card can give you the same convenience as credit. If you have chosen to avoid credit card use, you don’t have to forge the ease and security of paying with plastic.

You can instead employ a decoy – a debit card which looks and acts just like a credit card, but which links to your transaction account and allows you to only spend your own money.

Debit cards offer you the security to pay for bills over the phone or make online purchases and can even offer rewards of their own – Visa Debit cards for example give you first access to concert ticket releases and discounts on audio entertainment equipment.

A worthy opponent, who has now earned himself an equal rank beside Knight Rewards, but has Knight Avoid been able to topple his historic foe?

The battle has been fought and won, with each side offering a mighty show of strength and determination for their cause, with the duel making champions of both competitors.

How About You?

The duel between Knight Rewards and Knight Avoid will go down in history, so which side will you be fighting on in the future?

Fred Schebesta write for Credit Card Finder and Savings Account Finder, where he helps people to compare savings accounts and credit cards

How would you like to win a $500 American Express Gift Card or even a $100 gift card just in time for last-minute holiday shopping? 

Who wouldn’t!?

Joel, over at Credit Card Chaser is running the 2009 Credit Card Chaser LOVE/HATE credit cards contest. 

Head on over to Joel’s site to enter your comments for a shot at the $100 gift card.  If you’re a blogger – write a post about your own LOVE/HATE story with credit cards for a chance to win the big prize! 

In the meantime…

Here’s My Credit Card Story

I absolutely LOVED my Chase Visa Golf Card, but now I HATE it.  With this card I earned dollar for dollar rewards with no limits. 

After a certain amount of points Chase would automatically send me a “golf pack“, which included a free round of golf at hundreds of courses around the country along with a 6-pack of Nike golf balls and a pack of tees! 

Because I ran all my business expenses on this card I managed to earn seven or eight free rounds of golf, about four-dozen golf balls and countless tees!  It was a pretty sweet gig – that is until Chase shut the card down! 

After having the card for two years I got an unexpected letter in the mail stating that they no longer supported the rewards program and that I could no longer use the card for purchases and any points I had earned would be forfeited!  What a crock! 

So Chase Visa Golf Card – I got no love for ya! 

This Week’s Round Up

Here’s a look at a few good posts from around the ‘sphere:

• Looking for some thoughts on the prosperity gospel?  Trent over at The Simple Dollar provides an answer to an email question he receives quite often about God blessing his site. 
• Bob over at Christian PF provides a response to Trent’s post and tackles the issue that the Bible oftentimes talks about God prospering or blessing us.  I think it’s a good, well-balanced view.  Bob makes the case that when we compare ourselves to the rest of the world – we in American are filthy rich and therefore we need to know how to use our money for the greater good.
• Matt Jabs, a blogging buddy over at Debt Free Adventure freshened some things up a bit at his site with a new theme design.  Check it out if you get a chance and let him know what you think.

Many times the simple things have a way of sticking with us and helping change our patterns of behavior better than a list of 25 items we need to remember to do on a regular basis. 

If you’re struggling with credit card problems and stopping the use of your credit cards - you could set fire to them, but I hate the smell of  buring plastic don’t you? 

Instead, try to focus on changing just one or two things.  Once you master those then you can move on to the next steps. 

I recently read an article from TheStreet.Com called 5 Ways to Dig Yourself Out of Credit Card Debt.  This post is adapted from that article. 

It will be especially important with Black Friday approaching that you have a plan in place to help with your credit cards. 

Here are three simple things you can do to help avoid credit card problems and curb your credit card usage:

1. Delete your cookies

Wait! What? Yes you read that right.  But how does that help? 

Cookies are simply a way your computer remembers information about you to make your internet browsing easier and quicker. 

One thing that your computer stores is your credit card account numbers and information. 

Think how easy is it to jump on a site like Amazon.com, shop for that new book, video game or software you’ve been dying to buy and with a couple clicks of a mouse have the item shipped to your house.

Most people aren’t big dorks like me and have their credit card number memorized  - so by deleting your cookies you at least have to take a few minutes to go dig your credit card out of your wallet and type in the information.

Doing this will probably get old after a while and hopefully will be enough to at least make you pause and think, “Do I really need this?” 

2. Apply the $25 rule

This rule simply says you CANNOT add more than $25 (or $50 or $15 or whatever you amount you decide) to a purchase you were originally going to make.

In other words, say you go to the mall for a new pair of pants, but you notice that sweater you’ve been eyeing for a while is on sale for $29.99.  You need to say, “Sorry sweater, you’re not coming home with me!”  Don’t act like you don’t talk to your clothes!

You should set your target spending amounts BEFORE you go to the store.

Another version of this would be to say you cannot add X amount to your card at any one time – where X is whatever amount you decide ($25, $50, $75 etc.)  This helps avoid those big ticket items that are easy to say to yourself, “Oh, I’ll just pay it off later!”

3. Play the Three Reasons game

This can be one of those games that annoy you to the point of not purchasing the item. 

Basically you need to name three reasons why you should buy that particular item with a credit card.    (Don’t cheat: ”Because I don’t have cash on me” is not an answer!).

If you have trouble with cards don’t fool yourself into thinking that getting your cards rewards points is an answer either.

If you can come up with three solid reasons why you should buy with your credit card then go for it.  What you’ll find is that many times it just doesn’t make sense. 

Try these simple rules this holiday season and see what happens with your credit card usage.  What other simple tricks do you use to help curb your credit card use?

Other posts on credit cards you might like:

• How to Save (Potentially) Thousands by Spending $3.99
• 9 Habits of the Debt-Free Credit Card User
• 5 Mistakes People Make with Their Credit Cards