Some Thoughts On How To Lower Your Credit Card Debt

It is the easiest thing in the world to get into debt but, regrettably, getting out of debt can be a very hard and long road to travel. For all too many individuals today it is credit cards which are the root of their debt problem and clearing credit card debt is something which takes a little of planning and a lot of self-control. Would you like to manage without credit cards?

You have to begin by cutting down on your expenditure on your credit cards, and preferably to stop using your cards altogether. It is much too easy to use credit cards and the first trick is to leave your credit cards at home when you go out and to merely take enough cash with you to cover your needs.

Now you are still going to come across things that you wish to buy and which you would have bought if you had had your credit card with you, but the simple fact that you have to go back home and get your credit card to buy an item means that you will think twice about it. Hopefully, it will also get you into the habit of thinking about whether you really do need things. One big problem with credit cards is that they permit you to make impulse buys and nine times out of ten these purchases are things which you do not need.

However, cutting back on your spending is just one side of the solution because you still have to clear your present debt. Naturally cutting down on your expenditure will assist because you will now have more money available and should be able to start paying off more of your debt every month. Of course this may still leave you contemplating a lengthy time period before your cards are clear, but it is a good start.

Yet another effective way to reduce your credit card debt could be credit card debt consolidation which means taking your current card debts and rolling them all into a single card debt which has a lower rate of interest. Of course this does not get rid any of your debt but it slows down the rate of growth of the debt each month as interest is added to your account and so gives you a better chance to catch up with the problem. Nowadays there is tremendous competition between credit card companies and there are all sorts of inducements being offered to consolidate existing credit card debt, including such things as an interest holiday with 0% APR being charged to your new card for its first few months. As with any financial offer you do however have to look at the fine print carefully and ensure that you know precisely what kind of contract you are signing. If you do not study the fine print with enough you may find yourself jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

An alternative to credit card debt consolidation is to merely speak to your own credit card company and see if they will lower the interest rate on your present card. You may be surprised to find that with so the current level of competition in the market many credit card companies will accommodate you in an effort to retain your business.

If, in spite of your best efforts, you simply feel that you are not going to be able to reduce your debt to manageable levels then you might wish to negotiate the settlement of your debt with your credit card company. However, negotiating settlement of a credit card debt requires skill and this is not a path that you should follow without professional advice.

Unhappily, there is no easy answer to clearing credit card debts and, no matter how you try to dress it up, it comes down to disciplining yourself into reducing your expenditure and paying down as much of your balance as you can afford to each month. It is also a good idea to get professional assistance to pay personal debt before things get out of control.