Plain and Simple, Debt Stinks

It’s been a while since I posted anything about personal finance, and I’m starting to plan my next credit card “app-o-rama” so it reminded me just how important it is to ALWAYS pay off your credit cards every month.  If you happen to be carrying a balance then let’s get it paid off ASAP!  As I’ve mentioned before in my Dave Ramsey post, please don’t even think about using credit cards to earn points if you don’t have the will-power and budget planning to pay them off when your bill comes due.  If you happen to be someone that yearns to get into “points game” for all of the travel benefits that I’ve talked about, but carries some credit card debt, let’s take control of that debt NOW, rather than letting it continue to control you!

Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

The quickest way to earning huge travel points and then adding to them is from credit card sign-on bonuses and subsequent purchases.  So, if you think you’re game, but happen to have some credit card or other loan balances, I want to provide you with this quick and easy Excel loan calculator to show just how fast you could get out of debt by paying more than the minimum monthly balance (the worst thing to do BTW).  It’s similar to many of the web enabled ones available other than it’s a free download that you can use offline as often as you like to calculate exactly what you need to pay each month (your budget will help determine this amount) to erase your credit card debt and other loan balances fast and get back on the road to financial freedom.  No one wants to be a servant to debt. The key here is to print the resulting report and hang it somewhere where you can mark off each monthly payment to track your progress.  This visual is very motivational and will keep you on track to that zero balance!  Have one for each balance you need to pay off, starting with the smallest one first to give you a quick victory!

Avoid the Common Mistakes

One of the biggest financial mistakes people make is not saving.  If you’re accustomed to just making minimum credit card payments every month, I doubt you’re saving much in your savings account, IRA or 401(k).  Let’s change that now.  Be sure to also read my posts on creating and sticking to a budget and paying off your credit cards.

Free Tool

Here is the link to my free spreadsheet loan calculator tool:

Credit Card Debt Calculator

This is the first of hopefully many helpful free tools for your travel and personal finance needs.  It’s 100% free, I just ask that you consider signing up for my email list so you’re notified of future posts and downloads.  It’s not required, but sure appreciated so I can stay in touch.  I will take requests for future tools as well from my “Contact Me” page.

If you find this tool or any of the material on my site useful, please consider using my Amazon affiliate link when making future orders.  It doesn’t change the price you pay, but does contribute a small commission to Travel Brainstorm to assist in the maintaining of this site.

As always, happy brainstorming and safe travels!