I had some productive coaching sessions with two different individuals recently that made a huge impact on their financial life.

They do not know each other, but they had something in common. They both possessed several credit cards and, as a result, had a lot of credit card debt. One had around $33,000 in credit card debt, and the other had just over $40,000 in credit card debt. Due to the various interest rates each was paying, with some of the cards having an APR of around 16% (which was the lowest) and in other cases a given credit card was just under 25% APR. These are crippling rates. These individuals were having to pay out around $500 a month – PER CARD! Their financial life was in ruins.

Since both of them were members of a credit union, I advised them both to go to their respective credit unions and see if they could qualify for a personal loan, with the loan amount being enough to pay off their credit cards entirely. Both of them followed my advice. Both of them secured the loan they requested, with an interest rate much lower than what they were being hammered with by the credit card companies. And both of them paid off their credit cards completely. Now, they pay around $550 to $600 per month for the loan which means they are paying far less each month than what they were paying when they carried those obscene balances on their credit cards.

I told them to commit to not using their credit cards except in an emergency, or in a judicious manner on the condition that they know they can pay them off each month, or else they will bury themselves! They seem to get it.

And as an added bonus, they both saw an increase in their credit scores.

Do you have a lot of credit card debt? Do you even know the APR on your credit cards? If it is over 12%, you may be needlessly paying out a lot of money each month. Stop making the credit card companies rich while you barely make it each month. Get a loan from your bank or credit union at a reasonable rate and pay off the credit cards.

And then discipline yourself not to run them up again. Your habits must change. You must be a wise steward with your money.

Do this and you will find you have a much lighter albatross you are saddled with. You will have more money to work with, you will enjoy more options, and you will be happier and less stressed.

Do it. Today!