How Can I Increase My Credit Card Debt?

Credit card debt is the number one financial issue facing young adults, but it is becoming more prevalent among older Americans as well. There are many factors that contribute to credit card debt--over spending, late payments, having too many credit cards, and a general misunderstanding of how credit works.

Once you accumulate a little debt, it becomes very easy to get deep and deeper into credit card debt. If you want to increase your debt, just follow the simple steps below. Or if you want to decrease or eliminate your credit card debt, just do the opposite!

(1) Pay for everything on credit. If you have the cash to buy food or gas, keep those pretty paper bills in your wallet and take out the plastic instead. This helps keep your hands clean, because paper money has germs.

(2) Think of credit cards as magical free money tickets that never expire. If you find clothes, handbags, truck accessories, or video games that you can't afford, just use your credit card. When the cashier swipes it and gives it back to you, notice the card remains unchanged. This means you can reuse it to 'buy' more stuff, again and again.

(3) Whenever you get a credit card bill in the mail, only pay the minimum amount on the balance. Even though the minimum payment is far less than what you've spent, that is all you have to pay to keep debt collectors away. Paying only the minimum on your credit card balance will also help increase your debt. Or better yet, throw the credit card bill away and don't pay anything at all!

(4) Don't learn how interest works. Interest is the magical ingredient that makes credit card debt pile up so fast. Learning what interest is and how it works takes all the magical fun out of credit cards.

(5) Apply for more credit cards. Once you reach the spending limit on one card, all you have to do is fill out an application to get another. Keep all of your credit cards in your wallet so that they can multiply, and multiply your debt.

© Had2Know 2010