With stories like Alexandra's, it is clear that we are facing a crisis as our ageing population can no longer act as a carer for adult family members.

Debt reduction is easy when you use the Fido credit card calculator.

Debt reduction should be a goal we all share – especially when that debt is owed on a credit card.

This month our friends at www.simplesavings.com.au have a very simple yet very powerful strategy for reducing credit card debt quickly.

The strategy comes from one of their members who writes: “I have discovered that I will save over $11,000 just by paying an extra $5.00 a week off my credit card!

“I used a fantastic free credit card calculator from a website called Fido. You can go straight to the calculator at

http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byheadline/Credit-card-calculator?openDocument

“It is very easy to use and will prove to you how banks make a horrendous amount of money from you.

“For example, if you have a credit card debt of $15,000 and are paying the minimum payment of $300 a month, that debt will take you 36.5 years to pay off. During this time you will also have paid the bank a whopping extra $16,807 in interest!

“However, by paying $320 per month (an extra $5.00 per week), you will have the same debt paid off in 5.5 years and will have parted with a much lower $5,570 in interest payments. A massive saving of $11,057!

“You can use the calculator to work out any amount of credit card debt this way. You can fill out the information online or you can download it as an Excel spreadsheet.

“Once you have the figures you can print out your own personalised chart to keep you on track. I have multiple cards and have printed out every one. Try it out – you will be outraged, amazed, angry and inspired!”