If you ask around you will find that almost everyone you know will have a credit card. Unfortunately the answer to the question will be that there is more than one credit card in the wallets of your loved ones. What you will also find out is that they are in a large amount of debt. In today’s economy almost every one has credit card debt and most of us are in over our heads and looking for a way out. There is no one to blame but ourselves for the amount of credit cards that we carry and the amount of debt that we are in.
Therefore only we can get ourselves out of bad credit card habits. This article will help to give you tips on how to trick yourself into better behavior with your credit cards and hopefully help to get you out of the credit debt cycle.
Social Media
Everyone today has some sort of media connection that they communicate on all the time. A great idea to keep you on the straight and narrow with your credit card spending is to let everyone know on your social media site that you are trying to cut down on your credit card spending. By letting everyone know what your intentions are if you slip and spend on your cards you will have to face the embarrassment of telling your friends.
Credit Card Alerts
Another way to curb your spending is to set up the credit card alerts that many credit card companies are now offering. What this does for you is it will send an email or a text to your spouse when you have hit a set credit amount or when a large purchase has been made on your credit card. Having to face your spouse when you get home from making a large purchase is a great motivator to help you walk away from making the purchase that you do not need.
Stickers
This might sound crazy but if you have avoided a spending temptation during the day you should give yourself a sticker on the calendar. This might sound like something that you might do for children but psychologically this can work for you as well. Everyone likes to see themselves doing well and if you are seeing yourself getting stickers day after day you will want to keep that reward streak going.
Rewards
When you start to curb your credit card spending you will need to reward yourself for good behavior. Of course you will need to keep the rewards inexpensive since you are trying to save money but such things as a long weekend nap, renting a movie, or even taking a long walk or a bubble bath can be great rewards that cost nothing or next to nothing. These little rewards will help to keep you on the right path.
Conclusion
Controlling your credit card spending might sound easier than it really is. Tricking yourself into better credit card behavior will take time; patience and a lot of self control but once you start you cannot stop.
