To Resolve or Not to Resolve When Credit Card Debt is the Question by Guest Contributor Martha Jackson

For the 65% of the Americans that carry revolving credit card debt at an average of $11,000, their January, 2012 statements have already packed an unwelcomed punch for the New Year. Since the last decade, getting out of debt has been one of America’s top resolutions, for both the national debt as well as the consumer credit card debt. There seems to be a running joke that New Year resolutions are made to be broken but with the present economic condition, this would become sheer foolishness. The best way to get started is by resolving to live up to your New Year resolutions to stay out of debt. Though there are many professional companies that can assist you to get out of debt by paying small and affordable monthly payments, yet you should try your best to stay on track so as to avoid seeking professional help.

• Monitor your credit report time to time: If you didn’t check your credit report time to time in 2011, resolve to do so in 2012! You always need not sign up for a credit monitoring service to check your credit report; you just have to keep an eye on the report by pulling out one from any of the three credit reporting agencies. If you stay updated about what the credit bureaus speak about you, you can measure your steps before you take a wrong one.

• Repair your credit score: If you plan to buy a new house or a new car in 2012, you must be looking forward to taking out a mortgage loan or a car loan to finance it. If this is your dream this year, you should also start repairing your credit score in order to make the loans affordable and covetable. All lenders will check your score so as to make sure that lending a loan to you is not risky on their part. You should therefore take steps to boost your credit score and be on the safer side.

• Trigger your high interest debts: Unattended debts can have a negative impact on your credit score and on all the other financial records. You should make sure that you repay your high interest debts as soon as possible so as to eliminate your revolving debt burden. If needed, you should get help from the debt consolidation or the credit counseling agencies so as to get professional help and expert advice.

• Stop living paycheck to paycheck: If you had been living paycheck to paycheck in 2011, you should resolve to quit this habit in 2012. You make one big expense and this is enough to take you to financial ruin and possibly you may even be forced to file bankruptcy. Save money aggressively so that you can form a cushion on which you can fall back during an emergency.

Don’t believe in the clichéd view that resolutions are made to be broken. If you’re financially wise and you want to lead a happy 2012, you should take care of your resolutions. Follow the tips mentioned above so that you can stay out of debt and avoid running to professional agencies to get out of debt.

Author’s Bio: Martha Jackson loves to write financial articles and she is a contributory writer associated with the www.debtconsolidationcare.com and has written several articles on debt consolidation, debt settlement and get out of debt for various financial websites. She holds her expertise in the Debt industry and has made significant contribution through her various articles.