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Scott,
I am a 53-year-old female with a husband that abuses credit cards. I
have sold 2 houses and taken out an equity loan to pay off credit
cards. Tell me how to talk to a man and tell him how stupid he is. I
have the only retirement account. He has some cattle. I just heard
you on the radio today about using credit cards to pay off the debt.
Maybe I could convince him of that. Please explain. Thank you very
much.
--Cecile
Cecile,
Thanks for writing and for listening
to me on the radio!
It's always a smart move to pay off
as much debt as possible. Credit card interest rates are usually at
a much greater rate than any other form of debt. I've seen credit
card rates as high as 35%!
Now that you've paid off much of the
debt with the sale of the two houses and the home equity loan it's
time to look at other options. I always talk about making the banks
fight for our business and that's what I mean when I say using
credit cards to pay off debt.
As you transfer your balances from
one bank to another you'll find that all your bankcards will start
to offer you better and better deals. These lower rate deals can
help you save thousands of dollars but there is one caution. That is
to not spend the savings by charging the cards to the limit with new
purchases.
 Please read my article, Getting
better, cheaper credit--right now! You may be able get start
getting lower rates right away which will start saving you even more
money!
The problem sounds
like you're having trouble getting your husband to follow your
financial plan. You can try to change his philosophy
about purchases by suggesting that he ask himself some questions before
buying anything, especially with credit cards! You can read the
questions I ask myself, and the thoughts of other DebtSmart®
readers, from the last issue's survey by clicking here.
The best strategy to curb his
spending may be to simply take away his credit cards. I'm not
saying to close all the accounts, just take away the card and give
him cash to spend. When he runs out of cash, he runs out of buying
power. This may not go over well at first however, it's the best
measure to attenuate his spending.
Good luck and please let me know what
happens!
Regards,
Scott
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