How to eliminate credit card debt

Most people don't even want to know how much they owe on cards. They don’t even open the statements, not wanting to know how long it will take to pay off. The worse it gets, the more they want it to disappear. But the only way it will disappear is if you pay it off and get rid of it. It won’t go away if you ignore it , it will just grow. You will have to make sacrifices and change your lifestyle to truly manage credit card debt elimination.

To begin the process, the first thing you must do is to start paying them more than just the minimum payment. If you only make minimum payment, you are costing yourself thousands of dollars in interest. Save money and time by putting in a small amount, say ten dollars, extra. Try to cut back on other things and put all the extra cash towards your credit card bill. If you have good credit, consider switching your balance to lower rate credit cards. Many cards offer zero percent interest for up to a year on balance transfers and some give you a low fixed rate for several years. But you have to make every payment on time, or you will have to pay the default rate of close to 30%.
In addition, cancel your old credit card so that you don’t charge on it. If you have more than one credit card, make a list of your cards in the order of highest interest rate to lowest interest rate. Pay minimum payment on all except the number one on the list. Put all the extra money towards paying off that card. When the highest interest one is paid off, combine the money freed by that and start on the second card on the list. This is the snowball method. The more cards you eliminate, the more you have to pay off the next card and, by eliminating higher interest cards first, you save a lot on interest.
True credit card debt elimination only happens after you have paid off, cut up the cards and closed all your credit card accounts. Paying off the balance, without closing the account, allows temptation to creep in; allows every little thing to become an emergency. Close the account and cut up the card. Eliminate any possibility of going back into debt. Credit card debt elimination is not easy but it certainly is worth it.

If you don't have good credit, you can call your own credit card issuer and ask for a lower interest rate and try to negotiate a repayment plan. Keep calling back every fifteen minutes. Every time you hear a no, hang up and call again in 15 minutes. You will be speaking to a different customer service executive. Simply tell the person you speak to that you are having financial difficulties, and you will need to negotiate a lower monthly payment or file for bankruptcy. Many creditors will work with you if you are upfront and honest because they do want to recover their money. But if you fail to follow the deal, they will probably take action and impose a higher interest rate and massive late fees.

If you find that you do not know how to go about these things, or would prefer professional help, consider hiring debt management services. A professional would help you identify your spending habits, income, and expenditure, look at the types of finance credit cards, store cards, loans, overdrafts, or mortgages. After they have assessed your situation, he or she can recommend ways of managing your debts.