10 Steps To Tackling Your Credit Card Debt

First of all, you can take comfort in the fact that you are not the only one fighting credit card debt problems. There are hordes of people who have even worse credit card debt problems when compared to yours; all of them seeking an effective way to eliminate the credit card debt. So what is the solution to your credit card debt problem?

Well, the solution really is to smash the credit card debt with full force and eliminate it completely. Now how do you do that?

There are many ways in which you can solve your credit card debt problem. Different people suggest different ways of tackling it. However, here is a simple step by step account of what you can do to get rid of your credit card debt.

1. Take stock of the situation i.e. draw up a table with the following fields – Credit card name, balance, payment due day (the day of the month by which you are required to make payment of your credit card bill), APR, reward points earned, redemption offers applicable for your reward points balance, remarks.

2. Fill the table up with data from your various credit cards.

3. Check if any reward points that you may have accumulated can be used to make partial payments or cover any kind of fees or even if the points can be bartered for something you need.(spending less means preventing the credit card debt problem from getting worse).

4. If you have any available credit on any of your credit cards it would worth your time to call those credit card companies and check on the availability of lower interest rate balance transfers. If they offer reduced interest rate balance transfers, it would be wise to transfer any balance of a higher interest rate credit card.

5. You may also consider applying for another credit card (I know, I know, your trying to eliminate your credit card debt, not create more.) Hear me out first. If you can get a lower interest rate balance transfer credit card that you may be able to consolidate one or more of your credit cards into one, this would allow you to do two things: first you can eliminate at least one (hopefully more) of your higher interest rate cards. Second, it will cause your required monthly payment to be lower allowing you to pay a larger amount towards your principal, not just your interest.

6. First eliminate debt on the credit card contributing the most to your credit card debt problem i.e. highest APR (interest rate) and highest balance. Start with one. Pay the minimum required monthly payment on all the other credit card while applying the most money you can afford to the credit card first on your list to pay off. This will allow you to reduce the balance faster and to break the cycle of the never ending balance payoff.

7. Once you have eliminated the debt from one credit card, do yourself a favor and destroy it. In todays day and age it is almost a necessity to have a credit card, but you only need one and if you have to use it, you should pay the balance off completely every month.

8. Practice controlled and healthy spending habits (after all you are looking to get rid of credit card debt problem for good and not just temporarily.

9. Look for alternative means of adding to your income (more money means earlier termination of credit card debt.)

10. See your debt reduce with time and celebrate the day when you finally put an end to your credit card debt problem.

Remember,it is ultimately up to you to make a change in the way you use and percieve credit cards and credit card debt. You CAN take control of your financial future and put and end to credit card debt forever.

No Need to file Tax Return if your income is less than 5 Lakhs

In a welcome move, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has proposed that salaried taxpayers whose taxable income, including salary and interest income is up to Rs 5 lakh will not be required to file income-tax return from now.

However, this proposal does not cover income from other sources like house property , capital gains and gains from profession and business.

The scheme will be in force from assessment year 2011-12 onwards. This means that salaried persons eligible under the scheme would not have to file returns for the financial year 2010-11 in 2011-12 (assessment year). However, those salaried persons who want to claim tax refund, would have to income tax file return.

Under the scheme, the salaried person seeking exemption from filing IT return has to disclose about the incomes like, dividend and interest to his employer for tax deduction. In the scenario, the Form 16 issued to salaried employees will be treated as income tax return. At present, it is mandatory for all salaried persons to file income tax return under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Indian Supreme Court lays down guidelines for grant of Interim stay

In a welcome move the Supreme Court has laid down guidelines regarding grant of interim stay in an attempt to prevent protracted litigation in civil disputes. A bench headed by justice Dalveer Bhandari issued the guidelines in the wake of increasing number of instances where parties who obtain a stay in their favour, file “frivolous” applications to delay the proceedings. The court’s direction came while it decided a petition filed by a woman who has been fighting a 40-year-old property dispute that was started by her husband and his brother. The bench slapped a fine of Rs. 2 lakh on the petitioner for filing a “frivolous petition” before the Delhi high court to delay the case. Due to the petition, the petitioner had managed to stall the eviction suit pending against him before the trial court for more than a decade.

The SC bench observed that the courts should be cautious in granting interim injunctions or stay in the absence of the opposite party. Short notice should be issued to hear both the parties and then pass suitable biparte orders.