Eliminating Credit Card Debt Advice

Have you ever noticed life seems to be full of sometimes exasperating contradictions, arbitraries and traps? There is no better example of this than in the area of finance. Perhaps you have heard this mantra: "Good credit is really important and everyone needs to establish credit." I don't know about you, but I don't remember a course in high school or college or any place for that matter where they taught me what credit really is, how to use it, how to avoid abusing it, when you have too much or when you have too little. Wow! It is like someone inviting you to play game, telling you the object of the game, but refusing to tell you the rules and then saying, "start!" Exasperating!

So you start to play this mysterious game called "Be Smart with Your Money and Live the American Dream" and then along comes Madison Avenue, every retailer on the planet and every creditor and they assure you that there is no need to wait. You can enjoy all the good things in life now, "on approval of credit". So you go along and ask, "What does it take to get my credit improved?

"Well son, all you need is a good FICO score."

So you ask, "How do I get a score from FICO?"

"Well, son we can't really tell you much about FICO but we can tell you that the main thing is to get credit, use it and then make those payments on time."

So you scratch your head and say, "Well ok, check with FICO and let me know what kind of score I have 'cause I agree that waiting sucks. Getting that big screen now sounds good and not paying any interest for the next two years sounds great."

They check with the mysterious FICO and your score comes back and at 620 and you think, "Wow that sounds pretty good."

And they say "Well, it isn't really that good, we can finance the TV for you but we can't let you have it interest free for 24 months."

You ask how can you get a better score and you're told "Well, we really don't know how FICO decides on your score but what we think it may be because you don't have much credit established yet so getting this TV will help build your credit."

So now you are pretty confused but it makes some sort of vague sense and so you decide to do it.

Snap! The trap is has been baited and sprung! You're up to your eyeballs and you still don't really know what happened. After all everyone is else seems to have a big screen TV too and it's weird no matter who you ask they don't know who or what FICO is either.

Almost all of us are in this trap to a greater or lesser degree. We have been artfully sucked in and it is imperative for our own survival and the survival of this country that we learn the rules of the game of finance and start to win for real.

Duane L. Anderson is the CEO of CarePlus Financial. He has been helping people out of the debt trap and reach financial prosperity for the past seven years. www.careplusfinancial.com.