Interesting query, can pre-paid cards improve our Debt Management and consequently prevent us running up further Credit Card Debt? Are they a more viable solution to credit cards? Before we answer these questions let us have a look at just what a pre-paid card is.
Put very simply, it’s a card that you can bung any quantity of cash on and use whenever you obtain anything. Once you have used the quantity allotted on the card you cannot exceed it. You can put funds onto it by means of all the common methods; ATM, via the internet, on the telephone or even by method of text messaging. On the other hand you can go to your local post office or bank and even selected non finance retailers and attain preloaded cards.
A pre-paid card can assist us to budget effectively, permitting us to allocate finances for specific purposes; the weekly food allowance, or petrol for example. Also as David Roger, managing director for the Debt Foundation charity suggests, it can help prevent us wrongly using that overdraft yet again and going in to the red.

In theory it must make it less complicated for all of us out there who are just a little too friendly with our credit cards. After all anything that decreases the possibility of running up further Credit Card Debt has to be worth a try hasn’t it?
A further good feature is that they are not linked back to our bank account. This means if a certain malicious little character steals our card and tries to take up our identity then they will not have access to all our precious resources. Moreover if they were to try and use it via the web they would not be able run up expensive bills.
Nonetheless before you get all excited and run out there to obtain one, there are a number of things to remember. Firstly the most obvious; you can only load it with cash that you already have. Seems blatantly clear but it is really easy to overlook that that piece of plastic in your hand is not an limitless supply of credit that we can discount when the bill comes through. Visualize the embarrassment at the checkout if you try and acquire something that is more than the funds existing on the card! A important detail to keep in mind; only load it with what you can manage to pay for.
Moreover there are many fees incurred, monthly payments for instance and a few even have inactivity payments.

So, yes a different means of Debt Management they may well be, but what other alternatives are there, other than not spending what we haven’t got? For starters we might help our finances by being stricter with ourselves. We ought to control those impulse purchases that we soon after regret, but still have got to pay for.

Having a sensible budget and keeping to it goes a good distance towards maintaining a healthy bank balance and reducing those worry levels.

If we are in debt up to our eyeballs then budgeting is a must. We can look at choices such as Debt Consolidation for one, so we needn’t feel so overwhelmed with it all. By placing all those debts into one pot assists us to see what we’re dealing with, not only that but Debt Consolidation will enable us to have one reduced monthly payment.
No matter what we choose the bottom line is, do not get into more debt than we can manage.