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Go on a Debt Diet

every month), then cut up all of your cards and throw them away, except for a
single no-fee credit card, tucked way down in the bottom drawer, for real
emergencies.
Then pay cash for everything. I don’t mean real cash—you’ll miss out on

all those airline frequent flyer points if you do. I rarely pay with actual cash;
instead, I use the modern-day equivalent: an American Express card that I pay
off in full each month, along with a no-fee Visa card, if a merchant doesn’t
accept American Express. I always pay off my Visa card in full each month,
too. As an added plus, both cards give me an itemized record of my spending,
which is useful in tracking my expenses for tax purposes.
What I’m saying is—and I can’t stress this enough—I treat my credit
cards as a convenient way of spending cash, not as a source of credit for
spending cash I don’t have.
If you’re deeply in debt, but unwilling to destroy your credit cards, then

I’m sorry to say that you are headed one way toward a financial train wreck.
End the cycle now. Gather all your credit cards, and lay them out in front
of you. They are tantalizing, but ignore their glossy sheen. Think instead
about all the problems they have caused you: the growing debt, the endless
monthly payments, the debt bondage.
Cut them up. I mean it. Stop reading and cut those cards up now. Get out

a pair of scissors and take the first step toward living a debt-free life. Pay care-
ful attention here. If you are constantly carrying credit card debt and have not
cut up your cards, you’re standing on shaky ground. For this information to
help you, you must be willing to help yourself.
If you can’t take this step, I urge you to get help. Contact one of the many
nonprofit, credit counseling agencies that are available to you, either on a

walk-in basis or over the phone. Check the Internet or your local phone book
for debt consolidation and credit counseling agencies. When choosing, make

sure you work with a nonprofit group. The credit counseling industry has
deservedly earned a bad reputation over the past few years. Some agencies
hide behind their nonprofit status, but they are actually fronts for credit card

companies and nothing more than debt collection services. Others charge
large fees and offer you little that you could not do on your own. Unfortu-
nately, there is no national company I can wholeheartedly recommend, but
there may be private agencies to contact.
If you regularly attend a church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious
service, your pastor or leader may be aware of agencies or ministries that offer
debt counseling. Take advantage of these resources. Don’t think that you have
to face this battle on your own. There really are people who can help you.
Debt can be negotiated down, interest lowered, and, in some cases, removed,

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