One of the first things you should do to begin eliminating credit card debt is to call the credit card company. Ask them if they can lower your rate. If you have had a good payment history with them and your credit score is still in the higher numbers, there is a possibility they might go along with the suggestion.
Next is something that appears to be fading quickly in the credit world. One of the easier ways to go about legally eliminating credit card debt in the last decade was to do balance transfers. If you can obtain a credit card with a 0% rate, jump on it and transfer the balance of your 25% APR card to the new one. This is not as easy as it once was, but you might be able to do it. If there are no 0% rate cards available, you can still transfer the balance of the high percentage card to one that is not quite as high. However, be watchful for any prepayment fees or other fees that may be hiding in the fine print.
If you are one of the fortunate few these days that finds himself with a raise, apply the extra income to your highest interest rated card balances first if you cannot do anything else with them. As you pay off the highest interest rated cards, you will be able to apply more money to the other balances.
One other rule of thumb for eliminating credit card debt is to pay off the balance of the cards with the lowest balance first. These balances should be easier and faster to eliminate. When you have accomplished the grand payoff, celebrate by developing a continued strategy on the remainder of your credit card debt. You will experience some much needed euphoria and help under gird your financial self esteem, not to mention the fact that you are moving along the plan for eliminating credit card debt once and for all.
Also, remember that debt means a promise to pay. The most secure way of eliminating credit card debt without bankruptcy is to ‘bite the bullet’ and pay the debt. Don’t get sucked into the trap of paying minimum payments. If anything, double up on the principal of each payment by at least one payment and you will save yourself a lot of interest money in the long run. The burden of paying off the debt is time. It will take a long time unless you have a means of earning more income through a second job.
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1 Legally Eliminate Credit Card Debt | Rock Your Debt // Nov 15, 2010 at 10:58 pm
[...] Most people never intend to get in over their heads in credit card debt. It may start out innocently enough with one credit card that has a small limit. People that pay their bills on time from that one card are often offered countless more credit cards through the mail. At first, it seems the more cards you accept, the more you are offered. The problems may then start to mount. It goes without saying that if a person begins using all those cards, even the minimum monthly payments can become more than is affordable. Paying only the minimum payment can sometimes lead to even more spiraling debt and on top of that will take years to pay them off. If you find yourself in the above scenario, then you may be looking for a way to legally eliminate credit card debt. [...]
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