So when do you understand that you have a overwhelming credit card debt problem? For some it’s when they realize the monthly minimums will never end, for some it will take a reduction in funds to then take in that they can’t any longer pay the bills. There is one issue for sure that being millions of people are trapped in consumer credit card debt and are in denial about it. Such debtors who realize they need to get help have mastered the first move in the direction of financial freedom. The incurring step in this process is to figure out which method of debt relief will work best.

Available to debtor are three commonplace plans of debt relief that consumers normally use to eliminate consumer credit card debt are consumer credit counseling, debt settlement program, or bankruptcy. All the plans offer their reasonable negatives and positives.

Consumer credit counseling for multitudes of people looks simple enough because it has less of an effect on the credit score. The main problem is that a lot of consumers in all reality don’t have the income to pay for a consumer credit counseling program, in a lot of cases the monthly output will be the same as the minimum payments. Plus if just one installment is missed into the program the client will get kicked out and forego the benefits of a reducred annual percentage rate and one monthly fixed payment.

Debt settlement for millions is proving to operate the best right now in this bad economic condition. This plan is saving consumers up to fifty percent of what they presently owe and aiding these debtors to get out of debt in only a couple of years, as opposed to three decades or more with the banks monthly minimum payment treadmill.

Last and least there is always bankruptcy which should honestly be a last option. This will have an extremely long lasting effect on a consumers FICO rating and will be a public record for the remainder of the debtor’s existence. Plus the procedure is painful to go through. The state will control how much income the debtor needs to pay back and the speed they must do it assuming complete control of the debtor’s financial predicament.

One thing is for sure no matter what the situation is, getting out of credit card debt needs to be a high priority for Americans having hard income issues. Staying in credit card debt is equivalent to financial suicide and will keep you hurting financially for an extremely long time. Make it a point to seek some kind of Debt relief assistance as fast as you can.

One of the first thing that I changed to get out of credit card debt was to stop using my credit card for everyday purchases. Now I know that this is easier said than done but stick with me for a second.
I had two or three of my bills going right to my credit card and let me tell you I didn’t realize that by paying my cell phone by credit card it was costing me a bunch of money that I could have been using to pay down my debt.

You might be thinking that this could be a good idea if your credit card was giving me points or cash back but even then it is just plain dumb to have your bills being paid this way. Lets think about this for a second, my cell phone cost me $55 a month and I had the bill automatically paid by my Visa card that had an 14% interest rate. Add the APR to that which at the time was around 5% and I am paying almost 20% interest on $55 which is about $10 a month.

This is fine if you pay your whole balance when you get the bill but most of us see that minimum payment and just send it in. Don’t feel bad I did it too until my credit card bill was at $15,000. Since I was not paying off my bill that $55 carries over. So for every month I am paying $65 instead of $55. Once I figured that out I changed the way I pay off my cell phone.

I figured this out in November and since I had been carrying a balance for about 2 years I was paying an extra $10 for all that time on each months bill. Not only is it $10 each month but once it starts steamrolling that $65 becomes more so that will become $75 and more.

The only time that it makes sense to have a recurring bill being paid by credit card is if you are not paying any interest at all and you are getting travel rewards which is a pipe dream and will never happen.

If you can have the cell phone company take out your bill from your checking account debit card and just make sure you have enough to cover it every month. Most companies will have a system set up like this because they want your money any way that they can.

Something to think about is I had my cell phone, internet, and satellite Tv being charged to my credit card every month. Once you add all this up it becomes quite expensive as you can imagine. So here is stuff that I don’t even have as a possession that I was over paying for it too. At least if I would buy a car or something of value for myself that would be a slightly different story.

If you are currently paying your recurring bills automatic by credit card stop and think if it is really worth it. Be honest with yourself. Another way to get down your credit card balance is by looking at what you are spending your paycheck on.