Reducing your debt load, advise from…Visa and Mastercard?

I was browsing the Visa website and was somewhat shocked to find an entire section dedicated to personal finance. They talk about everything from borrowing strategies, where to borrow, the costs of borrowing, and reducing your debt load. Under the latter category, they actually give some great (and simple) advise:

• Don’t add to your debt with additional purchases
• Avoid impulse purchases
• Learn to cook or take your lunch to work   

Curiosity led me to the Mastercard website and sure enough they have a learning center dedicated to personal finance as well. They talk about everything from credit reports, credit scores, managing a budget, assessing debt, and how to pay off debt. They too give some great (and simple) advise:

• Curb spending, and create a plan to pay off debt
• Pay more than the minimum
• Pay off debt with the highest interest rate first