Beat the Credit Card Companies

How do you beat the credit card companies and the banks that control them?

Get out of debt - or at least manage your high interest rate debt.

A friend of mine said he believes there should be an interest rate limit on what the companies can charge. Congress, however, has never enacted such laws.

Meanwhile, for background on how credit card companies operate and more links, log on to this article that I wrote about credit card companies and why they want you to stay in debt.

Your high interest rate debt equals their profits.

You can learn more about getting out of debt and the history of the banking system by logging on to Federal Debt Relief Systems and watching their many videos posted on the subject.

High interest rates that are not paid down are a threat to building wealth and developing a positive cash flow for your personal finances -- or even your business.

Bailout, Leadership, Credit Card Debt and Corporate Greed

As the news reports begin to settle in the weeks ahead over the bailout, I'm pausing to offer my thoughts on this major catastrophe and hope for the long term.

First, it should be painfully clear to honest people about a failure for politicians in Washington, D.C., to lead effectively. Certainly, both parties are at fault and certainly I was especially disgusted by Nancy Pelosi when she introduced the bill for a vote earlier in the week.

She used her platform to blast the economic policies of President Bush. Great job, Nancy Pelosi. During a critical moment in the nation's financial history, she's intent on dividing and broadcasting even more vehemently her already caustic opinions about the President.

She should have struck a conciliatory tone. But, no. She was selfish. She wants power and she wants it now! Oh, and when she's got her back against the wall in the future, she'll cry out for bi-partisanship.

But maybe her speech is an indication of where the problem lies: Failed leadership in government, government agencies, private institutions and individuals able to rack up credit and worry how to pay later.

We live in an era where it's easier to point fingers rather than work on long-term solutions. Thanks, Speaker Pelosi.

I was speaking yesterday with a woman who used to work at Countrywide. She remembered when the company celebrated $ 4 billion in loans! Associates were under pressure to make loans. The problem: many of the loans were going to default.

I spent two years recently selling roofing to homeowners for Home Depot. It's a company I like but during that time, I saw the pressure in the stores for the managers to push credit on shoppers. They needed sales now! They needed numbers now! Well, they're not getting the sales and numbers today so maybe they'll have to plan for the long term.

Hourly employees were given quotas they had to meet. And, sure. It encouraged buying . . . but from a standpoint of people going in to debt.

And then I remember the slew of letters that came flooding our mailbox promising 1% interest payments.

But I was thrilled with our 6% fixed . . . and I still am. I ignored those letters.

So maybe the system will correct itself and loans will return to the old fashioned days of when homeowners had to save up 10% or 20% down and were rewarded with great rates if they did.

But saving requires long-term thinking. Working through solutions with members of both political parties requires diplomacy, humility and long-term thinking.

We can hope and pray that building for the long term future will begin to permeate our society instead of fighting for immediate gratification.

Fighting Credit Card Debt - Priceless

Fighting credit card debt . . . let's wind the clock way back to the second president of the United States, John Adams and learn what he has to say about money.

"All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, nor from want of honor or virtue, so much as downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation.”
President, John Adams

Listening to the "bailout" news and wanting to add my opinions has given me the feeling of watching a merry-go-round moving faster and faster and trying to figure out how to jump on.

But I'm going to add my thoughts by saying "focus on what you can control." And one thing you can control are your own spending habits and investment strategies.

Fighting credit card debt . . . it's worth the effort to pay down high interest rates and then teach your children -- no matter what their age -- why it's necessary for them to avoid credit card debt.

A friend in a business networking group of mine, Earl "Beaver" Belt, is with Federal Debt Relief System, and the quote from John Adams is on the FDRS web site.

He spoke with me about credit card debt and the need to educate Americans on the money system.

Do you believe interest rates on credit cards are too high or are they appropriate since credit cards offer easy money?

"I feel that they should have a limit. More so, if they would be secured against a hard asset I don't think that there would be as much of a problem as there is now.

"The credit card industry went before Congress and had a bill passed that allowed them to charge any interest rate that they wanted to. Once you see and understand the entire picture then it's much easier to see why they allowed it to happen.

"Please take the time to watch the first 3 videos on our web site. Then go back to the resources page and watch America, Freedom to Facism. I would also highly recommend checking out a video called MAXED OUT. It openly talks about the hazards of the credit card industry."


If you have high credit card debt, be patient and persevere in getting out of debt. Remember, getting in debt was a series of many small decisions made. Reversing a trend is never easy but it can be done.