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Managing Your Credit Card Debt
Interest rates are one of the keys to managing credit card debt. If you have a high balance on a high interest credit card, you are spending a lot of money to "borrow" that money from the credit card company. Additionally, the minimum payment that the credit card company calculates for you is only based on accrued interest, so if you only pay that, you'll never reduce your debt. If you have decent credit and some credit card debt on one of these high interest cards, you should consider applying for one of the many 0% interest rate cards that are out there. Be wary, many of these 0% rates are introductory, but paying less money to maintain your debt is your first step towards managing and eliminating credit card debt.
Paying Too High Interest? Look For Credit Card Consolidation
If you can, you should consolidate your credit card debt. This means moving the balance from your high interest credit cards onto a single card with a lower interest rate. For instance, if you have about $200 on each of your credit cards that have interest rates between 11% and 22% and you move those balances onto your third card which carries a 5% interest rate, the money you are saving on your interest payments to the other credit cards will allow you to whittle down the principle on all of your credit card debt. Of course, in order to make this really work, you need to cut up your old high interest credit cards. Don't fool yourself into keeping them for an emergency - get rid of the temptation so you won't dig yourself another hole.
3 Roads to Credit Card Consolidation
If you're overwhelmed by the credit card companies calling every month to harass you about late payments, you may need to consider making some drastic changes towards credit card debt relief. The first thing you need to do though, is simplify your life by consolidating your credit card debt. You can do this in one of three ways.
1. Home Equity Loan - You can take out a low interest home equity loan or line of credit and pay off all the credit card debt in one fell swoop. Yes, you now have another payment to make, but in all likelihood it will be much lower and easy to keep up with.
2. You can approach your bank, or another lender about a low interest personal loan to pay off your credit card debt. If you have good credit, this shouldn't be a problem for you - but if you don't, do not saddle yourself with yet another high interest loan.
3. Consolidate your debt onto a single 0% interest or low interest credit card and then make double payments to ensure that you're paying down the principle of your credit card debt.
Using a Bank for Credit Card Debt Relief
Your bank may be the answer to your credit card debt woes, so don't overlook them. Many banks offer special programs for people who want to pay down credit cards. As the home equity loan business booms, banks need to compete, so they have low interest or longer term loans that can help. Go to your own bank first and speak with a representative. See what your options are. In many cases, you can even set up automatic payments from your bank account. If you strike out with your own bank, hop online and look around at some of the lending sites on the web. Chances are, you'll find a bank that can help you. Make sure they are a reputable lending institution and that the interest rate is lower than the ones you are currently battling.