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During the year of 2007 the credit card companies earned a mind boggling 18 billion dollars in controversial penalty fees. As of last year the standard U.S. household carries credit card debts of over $9,000 and pays over $1,200 a year in interest. The creditors have debtors trapped paying only minimum payments, which will take people forever to eventually paydown all the while forfeiting thousands in interest. The biggest factor as to why they have had such success earning such large sums of money is the deceptive and subliminal advertising they do. It seems as if you can't sit through a series of commercials without getting advertised to by the credit card companies.

Everyone who watches any level of television will be able to recognize some of these commercials. Such as the Capital One cycle of ads with their tag line 'what's in your wallet'. One such commercial is of a family being forced to vacation with a tribe in the deep jungle, because they did not have the credit to go elsewhere. There are always the Chase ads, for the toted Chase Freedom card. How ironic is that advertising becoming financially free. Ask everybody who is swamped in credit card debt can confirm that it is anything but financial freedom. One of my personal favorites is the Visa ad where everyone is making purchases on credit, and then somebody pays cash the music stops along with the rest of the world. All of these commercials are driven at one thing and that is to get people addicted to using plastic for every purchase. In return having to shell out interest for everything they buy.

For some their financial situation has gotten untimely poor to the point where they are searching out a credit card payoff strategy. A couple of the popular systems for debt relief are consumer credit counseling and credit card settlement. Credit counseling is a full repayment process that can consolidate payments into one and lower interest. Then there is debt settlement which is for individuals who will not more than likely ever be able to pay the debt off. This system of settlement can on average save debtors up to 50% of what they owe and have them become free of their debts within 24 months or less. Whatever route you take to become debt free one lesson should be understood. That is not to fall for their deceptive advertising and get back in credit card debt again.