If you are looking for debt relief grants, you are probably already in credit trouble. One thing you should figure out is how you got to the point of needing help and what you should be doing differently.
With every credit card statement or bill you get in the mail, there is always a box that tells you the minimum amount due. It may seem that that amount is the least you can pay because the credit card company likes you and wants to be nice. No, the minimum amount due is what they WANT YOU TO PAY or hope you pay so that they can make the most money possible in interest from you.
Credit card companies make money by the outlandishly high interest rates they charge you. While you can only get about 1% interest if you put your money in a bank CD or a Treasury Bill, the credit card companies are very happy to charge you rates of 18% and higher. This is where they make their money and they want you to owe them as much as possible at all times. The more you owe them, the more money they make in interest as long as you keep on a schedule of paying them a little at a time.
It will take you many years to get out of debt if you only pay the minimum due every month. You HAVE to figure out a way to pay off more unless you want to be owing them money perhaps for the rest of your life.
The chart below shows the number of years it takes to pay off different amounts of credit and the chart is based on 19% interest along with a minimum monthly amount of just 2.1% of the outstanding balance. Remember, credit cards usually require low monthly minimums of between 2.0% and 2.5% of the outstanding balance because they WANT you to only pay that much. You need to fool them and pay more if you want to be successful at erasing your debt.
