One way to break free from the spending habit is to look at the credit in terms of total outstanding balances instead of minimum monthly payments. Each month, pay off all new charges on your cards, plus interest and a portion of the previous balance. You’ll reduce each month’s debt balance below the previous month’s. It should get easier as you go.

Another hard-to-do but effective idea is to slice the plastic. Certainly if you have more than one credit card, get rid of the one with the highest interest rate. If you pay your outstanding balance in full each month, get rid of the card that has an annual account fee of $25 to $50.

The road to financial independence comes by making hundreds of small prudent decisions over a lifetime, each seemingly insignificant, but collectively making the difference between financial dependence and financial independence.

Your thoughts on this subject? Your comments appreciated!

Content © Rich Brott, 2011

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