Overcoming Your Credit Card Debt part 2

Don't use your card while you pay it off. Put it on your dresser or in a safe. Lower your unnecessary expenditures so that you can pay cash for what you do need while you are paying off credit card debt.

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Pay off your highest interest rate cards first. Once you have paid off the card with the highest interest rate, move on to the next highest. Try with all your might to pay as much as you can possibly afford every month. It may be human nature to want to pay off the credit card that has the highest balance first, but instead, choose the card with the highest interest rate. This is the one you really want to get rid of.

Figure out which of your credit cards has the lowest interest rate. If it still has an available open balance on it, you might consider transferring the debt on a high-interest card to this one. As you pay it off, you will save money by paying less in interest.

If transferring debt onto a lower-interest card that you already possess is not possible, then check out some of those unsolicited credit card offers you're probably getting in the mail. Most of them will be offering you the opportunity to transfer credit card debt onto their new card with the promotion of a very low interest rate for a certain period of time. Some even have a 0 percent rate. If you're cautious, this could work to your advantage. First, figure out whether or not you can pay off the debt entirely before that initial teaser interest rate goes up. If so, do it! Send in the extra money you would have paid on the higher-interest card, which will now be applied to the principal of your debt instead of to an astronomical interest rate. If you cannot pay off the debt entirely before the interest goes up, be careful. Read the fine print on the offer, because if you think you can simply do the same thing again and transfer the remaining debt onto yet another low-interest teaser card offer, you might get zinged badly. Some credit card companies penalize you if you transfer any balance off that card within a certain length of time, like a year, and force you to pay higher interest retroactively back to when you first got the card.

Some of us are lucky enough to have family willing to give us a loan. It is something to consider. Just be sure everything is clearly understood and in writing. Do all you can to avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings.