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June 27, 2006
Where Did These Freakin' Credit Card Debt Come From
As summer gets into full swing you are dreaming of all the wonderful places and things you would like to do with your summer holidays.
Then it hits you like a load of bricks - Wow!!! Where did all this credit card debt come from???
Did I really charge all that on my credit card! Credit card debt is one of those things that creep up on you slowly but surely sucking your financial future down the toilet.
Usually it happens because there is still month left at the end of the money, meaning that there are always those few days between paychecks when your car needs gas and you need groceries, there's no money in your bank account so you put enough gas in your tank to get you by and a few groceries to last until your payday.
Doing this a few times over will slowly but surely eat you and put you in a situation where you are sinking further and further into debt and will never get out unless you make drastic changes to your lifestyle.
You only have 2 options to get out of this trap:
1. Cut your costs severly
2. Make more money
My choice a few years ago was to make more money. Yes, it can be done. Making more money is seemingly the more difficult option but how does that compare to down-sizing your home or not driving your car? Is down-sizing your lifestyle a real option? Probably not.
I have been marketing products online for 5 years now and doing this full time for the last 4 years. Yes, within a year I quit my real job and now earn much more and hope to be truly debt free within the next year. That is including becoming mortgage free!
I am in the process of completing some training material to help you earn more money to start chipping away at your credit card debt.
You can check out my site at The VEO Report.
I will provide more information on what you need to start thinking about in order to start your own business on the side and eventually become your main source of income.
Posted by Colin at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)June 22, 2006
Getting Out of Credit Card Debt - Launching Biz Wealth
Are you a dreamer? Are your dreams about earning a fortune? Paying off your credit cards and other debts seem like a far off or impossible option.
Not to worry, I can tell you that I was once there only a few short years ago myself. I too was a slave to "working for the man" but I broke the chains of the "real job" and ventured off to start my own internet business which at it's peak month earned $60,000 - That's right Six Thousand dollars which is what I earned at my job in an entire year.
I have recently partnered with somebody to start my next business.
Importing binoculars - Yes, I am working with my partner to establish a new brand of binoculars.
Check out my latest venture Opteck Binoculars
Posted by Colin at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)June 19, 2006
Credit Rewards Vs. Interest Payments
My last 2 posting spoke about the awesome benefits of being a rewards cardholder however I realized that I neglected to mention to account for interest costs associated with your credit card.
Credit card rewards programs are really best suited for people who pay off the entire balance owing each month as the cost of interest can offset the earnings you achieve.
Before you drop your current credit card and apply for a rewards card check the interest rate you are getting versus the interest rate of the reward card. If there is a huge difference in interest and you carry a balance it may be cheaper for you to stick with the credit card you already have and pay for a vacation.
When comparing interest rates make sure you look at the ongoing rate and not the introductory rate. Almost every credit card will have a short term low interest rate, typically three to six months and after the introductory period the rate will increase significantly. It is the ongoing rate you need to concern yourself with as this will be what you will pay in just a few short months.
Posted by Colin at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)June 18, 2006
Credit Card Rewards - I'm Going to DisneyLand
In my last post I spoke of the benefits of credit card rewards and mentioned that I have enough points for a free flight even after having just traveled on my points.
Since it is Father's Day, I was talking to my family about what they would like to do this summer - just enjoying my 2 daughter's who are ages 3 and 5 and asking them what special thing they would like to do when school gets out in a couple weeks and the answer was a very eager "Let's go to DisneyLand Daddy" - By mid-summer, the rewards points on my credit card will be enough to fly my family down for a stay at the DisneyLand Hotel...Well, I might need to cover the cost of 1 or 2 nights but that's not too bad!
So I better go spend the last few minutes of Father's Day with my girls before they go to bed dreaming about our upcoming Disney trip!
June 17, 2006
Credit Card Rewards - Free travel is a great thing
Last week my wife and I needed a quick retreat away from the kids and everyday life. So I called the rewards redemption center that handles the rewards for my credit card and found that we had enough points for a free trip to Las Vegas.
That's right, an all (or most anyway) expenses trip to Vegas! We had a free car rental, hotel paid for and flight all on my Avion Visa Card. There's still enough points left over for another flight too!
For those who wonder if a reward card is really worth it, I would say yes!
I use my credit card predominately for business spending so the rewards add up very quickly for me. It took only about 7 months for me to earn enough points for the free trip. As with most rewards cards now there was no black-out dates on when I could travel and I was able to book the trip on very short notice. Booking it only a week prior to my travel date.
If you have good credit and don't have any rewards points tied to your credit card spending, you really must consider switching cards. The rewards of free travel are definitely worth it. I must excuse myself now and plan my next trip.
Posted by Colin at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)June 15, 2006
How am I Going to Chip Away at This Debt Load???
Do you want more for your life? Struggling with those damn credit card bills?
Let me tell you this, you can have it all! No not overnight but there is a lot of money changing hands everyday and with all those monetary exchanges going on you can step in and take a piece of the pie and start chipping away at your debt load.
No, not everybody can do this - Stepping up and taking your piece of the pie is not easy. Well, it is easy, it's just confusing if you have never done it before.
It took me a few years to figure out how to step up and take my piece of the pie, but I have done it.
Once upon a time I had debt piling up and was a slave to the paycheck - A paycheck certainly does not get you out of debt. At best it will simply sustain your debt.
So what can you do about it?
The answer is quite easy - Start your own business. Huh??? What!!! I can't do that!!!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it all...I can't start a business because of this that and the other excuse.
I had all the excuses in the book until I reached the point that my first daughter came into the world...now suddenly I had to provide for this precious little girl and working at a regular job did not allow me to provide the necessities that she would need. Heck, I could barely afford a monthly bus pass to get to work. So motivation set in and off I went to find a way to make more money.
I was forced into a situation that did not accept excuses and there I went like "ignorance on fire" and built my own business which gives my family a great lifestyle...bigger house, bigger vehicles, and best of all, food on the table. All this from the basement of my home.
Yeah, I still have debt. But I don't worry about how I am going to pay it because I operate my own business and when necessary I can go out and make more in a very short period of time.
I hope this posting changes the way you think about launching your own business and if you need some direction in getting started feel free to contact me...
Reply to this post and I will get back to you and help you launch yourself into "super-success" and get rid of you credit card debt.
June 12, 2006
Goals, Hopes, and Plans Can Be Destroyed by Debt – But there’s hope!
Your wildest dreams are actually quite attainable but if you are one of those who abuses and misuses their credit cards you are diminishing your chances of achieving your goals.
Most people set goals for something special they want or want to do in life and THE most common element holding dreamers back is money. Even if your hopes aren’t really money related, you may be held back from pursuing your dreams due to your job. The need for earning money is always an issue.
So what can be done, you might be buried in credit card debt and that is going to really impose a problem in pursuing your goals. I know the feeling all too well! It was only a few short years ago, 5 years ago to be exact, that I was a slave to the daily grind. I dreamed of freedom. For me freedom meant not having to set an alarm clock to get up in the morning only to battle rush hour traffic for a job which I could not stand.
In order for me to pursue my goal of freedom and quit that nasty job I had to find a way to pay off some bad debt. There is such a thing as good debt by the way. Good debt is debt that you take on in order to make money, such as an investment property or stock portfolio. Bad debt is debt that costs you money, where there is no chance of making the money back such as a car loan or purchasing gadgets on a credit card.
Now, working at my job there was no way to really get ahead and start paying off credit cards other than to try to squeeze in some overtime hours which was sporadic at best. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who started his own business which produced a lot more than I was making and allowed him the freedom to do what he wanted, when he wanted.
I wanted a piece of that action! So I helped him (for free) in his business and in return I learned the ropes of what to do to follow in his foot steps and make a great living for myself. A living that provides me with the freedom I dreamed of. Incidentally, I have been free from a job for almost 4 years now. That’s right, within a year of starting my own business I was able to leave the “real job” for good and now can work whenever I feel like working, not working because I have to.
If you work at a “real job”, that job is likely going to be the key factor in not being able to achieve your dreams. Your credit cards and other debt will definitely factor in too. To chase your dreams you are going to need to be “debt wise” and avoid any debts that are not going to produce a return on investment.
Stay tuned – More to come on getting rid of those credit card bills and how to earn more to pay off debt to chase your goals, hopes and dreams!
Posted by Colin at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)