ACCUMULATED unpaid dues hurt, especially if acquired through credit cards. People wanting to get out of debt mess are strongly advised either to stop using credit cards or to at least see to it to pay whatever is charged to your account at the end of the month. That way, interest rates don't jack up. It also keeps you away from accumulating surcharges and penalties.

Worth the try

Interests, surcharges and penalties in unpaid balances through credit cards shoot up at a drastically fast pace. Better make purchases in cash. If you run out of cash, make sure, you don't have your credit card with you. That has always been an effective way to prevent new charges into your credit card accounts.

One can also try to make formal requests to credit card companies to impose lower interest rates on your account. There are some documented cases when credit card companies cave in to requests like that. It is worth giving a shot.

Is there such thing as good debt?

There are however those which many consider as good debt. This are those which imposes minimal interest rates and even provides assistance if only to allow you to establish equity in your home.

Not all of us can actually make prompt payment especially during this difficult time of global economic meltdown. The option of loan re-structuring is out since value of most real estate properties dipped to an all time low, rendering homeowners debt that is even more than the market value of their houses today.

The good thing about it is that the Federal Government has already made an announcement on its plan to provide technical assistance to American families in a situation like that. There are however glitches in the announcement. American families who'd wish to be included in the help list should be eligible under certain conditions. Among those conditions is that your remaining balance should not be over 125 percent of the real property's market value.

Student loans are also considered a good debt. Whatever you invested today could not be compared to your future --- college degree and a decent, high-paying job. Federal student loans are known to impose low interest rates.

The ability of distinguishing debts that help and mess around should be clear enough. There are debts that hurt us. There are also few debts forms that are helpful to us.

Revenue as against loan payment

Effects of the global economic meltdown include a freeze not just in hiring but also in wage increases to those who are lucky enough to keep their work.

With very little chance of getting pay hikes, workers face the difficulty of having to cope up with their monthly obligations, which include loan payments, rents, amortization, bills, etc., while there's no way to stop the prices of commodities and services from going up.

The purchasing power of one's money is weakening, allowing his money's worth to buy less than what it usually does. Consistent with the federal government's economic agenda, repayment options was introduced and it actually puts a limit to the monthly payment. GP