Freezing Your Credit Cards

People who find themselves unable to control their credit card spending are in something of a predicament. Having a credit card will put them deeper in debt, but not having a credit card makes it impossible to do things like rent a car or get a hotel room. In their book “Getting Rich In America” Lee and McKenzie suggest a method for keeping a credit card for when it is necessary without facing constant temptation.

Take a small plastic container such as a butter dish, or Tupperware and fill it with water. Place your card in the water and put it in the freezer. The water will turn to ice encasing your card in several inches.

When you want to use the card you must take it out and place it in the sink to thaw for several hours depending on the size of the container. This way you have a card, but it requires preplanning to use. Since most of the problems with credit cards come from impulse spending, freezing your card in ice will make these types of purchases impossible, but you’ll still have a card to use as long as you plan ahead.

Ideally self discipline is a better path than trying to keep your cards "on ice." However if it makes it easier for you not to spend this can be a very easy way to help train yourself to think about your credit card purchases ahead of time.

The Debt Consolidation blog offers insights into managing and reducing your debt. You can find more articles like this one at: http://debt-consolidation.strategy-blogs.com/