DEBT MOM WANTS TO KNOW: DO YOU CARRY A ROLLING BALANCE ON ANY OF YOUR CREDIT CARDS, OR DO YOU PAY EVERYTHING OFF EVERY TIME A STATEMENT ARRIVES?

If you have a balance on your credit card, and it’s not paid off in full every month… you’re in credit card debt.

It seems like a way of life. Charge the card, pay the minimum, roll a balance, pay the interest charge the card some more. That minimum payment isn’t going to make much of a dent in the overall balance. And what originally cost you maybe $3000 dollars could end up costing you an additional $600 in a year.
(* that’s a $3000 purchase on a credit card with 20% interest. $600 is the possible annual interest you’ll be responsible for if you aren’t paying off that $3K as soon as the statement comes in.)

You see, the credit card companies want you to spend money you don’t have. They make money lending to you. That line of credit isn’t there just because they like you. It’s there for the credit card company to make a profit off your decision to swipe and not pay off the full balance when the statement arrives.