Helping a Friend get out of Credit Card Debt (Part 1)

Credit card debt is a serious problem in our society.  It ruins lives, friendships, and relationships.  It is really easy to get into credit card debt, but really hard to get yourself out.

I don’t claim to be a credit card expert, even though I do have 19 credit cards currently open (list) and have never paid a penny in interest, missed a payment, or paid late.  Using credit cards, especially travel credit cards is a cat and mouse game with the credit card companies.  My motto: there is always a winner and a loser; if you are not winning, you are losing.

In reality, the huge sign up bonuses, spending bonuses, targeted bonus offers from the credit card companies are not free.  In the simplest form, those who pay interest to the credit card companies are subsidizing those of us who travel cheaply with the credit card miles and points.  We should all thank our friends/family/strangers for letting us explore the world on their dime.  Thank you everyone!

Anyways, let me get back on track…

I have a friend who had 2 credit cards, a store-branded credit card and a student credit card.  He/she wanted to travel more and see the world (who wouldn’t?), so he/she asked me which credit cards I would recommend for a recent college grad that had good travel benefits and no foreign transaction fees.  It was a simple question to answer.  Get the Chase Freedom credit card (no annual fee, earn 5% cash back on rotating categories, and save your Ultimate Reward Points so when you get the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer those points to one of Chase’s travel partners).  Then get the Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card (no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and a $100 sign up bonus).

Getting approved for both cards was easy and meeting the spending requirement on both credit card was no problem.  Fast forward a few months, and he/she “asked” me to help review his/her finances.  If you have credit card debt, or know someone who does, it can be difficult asking for help because you do not want to feel judged by the amount of debt you have.  Credit card debt is an easy debt to let build up, because there is really no big penalty for not paying in full every time.  When you have more pressing bills to pay every month like rent, car loans, car insurance, and student loans, it seems like your credit card bill gets whatever is left over after paying the previous bills.

I will continue this story after I get home from work.  Stay tuned for my recommendations…