America seems based on a culture of debt. Get it today, and pay for it tomorrow. The problem is that most Americans do not pay off their full credit card balance every month, so we are not paying tomorrow. We are paying week after week, month after month; the great deal we thought we had to have today ends up being a very costly purchase when compound interest is added on. The mentality of “buy now, pay later on credit cards” has been the cause of many a family’s hardship, especially when credit card interest rates go up or when the family cannot make its minimum payments.

In this first installment of a three-part series, we will consider some simple strategies that may ease your “credit crunch:” (more…)