How Can I Reduce Credit Card Stress Without Earning Extra Money?

Credit cards. We've all heard of them. Nobody wants them, but everybody's got them. Credit cards are financial quicksand. They're there to keep you in debt for as long as possible. And you can imagine the banks are making 16% off every dollar you're borrowing off them. It's phenomenally profitable for these banks, unfortunately, but it's phenomenally dangerous for you. So the Average Australian has $4,300 in credit card debt today. That's the average Australian. This is where the numbers get funky. 33% of Australians think they're actually paying interest on their credit card. So one in three think they're paying interest on their credit card. The ABS have just come out with stats saying 66% of Australians are paying interest on their credit card. That means two out of three people in Australia are paying interest on their credit card. Unfortunately, only one in three think they're actually paying interest on their credit card. That's a massive disconnect as it is. So credit card debt is just spiraling out of control. If you have a credit card debt of, say, 10,000, doll, that's you just putting your hand up saying, Scott, I've spent $10,000 more than what I've earned. So that's what credit cards allow you to do. Spending money you don't have, going into credit. I think the word debt card is a lot more appropriate for it. So if we are in a position where we've got access to credit, we spend it. I always see clients with a $20,000 credit card limit, and guess what? Their balance is $20,000. Last week, we spoke with a client who has over $200,000 in credit card debt at 16%. I mean, that is the definition of stress there. So what we want to do is put you onto a cash basis and we're using a Visa debit card. It has all the benefits of the credit card, except you can't spend money you don't have. And you're conscious of your spending then, because with a credit card, we're spending more than what we normally would. The stats are coming in that every single time you go to Coles or Woolworths and you're paying on credit, you're spending 14 to 15% more on your Shopp shopping. Just because your psychology is different, your mindset is, I'm not at my limit, I can afford this. Whereas if you went with a Visa debit card and had $600 in your account, your mindset is, I've got $600 to last me until Monday. What do I need? Not at my limit on my credit card, what do I want? McDonald's came out with another stat there. They're saying if you walk into McDonald's with your credit card versus another person walking in with cash, the person paying on credit will be spending $0.40, 47% more on at McDonald's. 47% more on at McDonald's. They're not hungrier. No pain is registered when they're paying on credit there. So it's very, very important. One of the first things you should be doing financially is chopping up your credit card, performing some plastic surgery and getting onto a cash based system. It is literally the smartest thing you can do financially. And I'm not saying you're spending money on interest. That's not my argument here. My argument is you're spending more than what you normally would with cash. And so if you can have a 15% reduction in your spending on your groceries every single week just by using cash, that's a great strategy which is going to help you and your family move forward financially. So credit cards should never, ever, ever be used. I know that. Just for the emergencies. No, you should have cash savings for your emergencies. Credit is just there to literally lure you into the quicksand. And once you're in, it's very, very difficult to get out.