Solutions to credit card debt, while varied in presentation, all mostly boil down to one factor and one factor only - put more money in than is going out.
Debt, like weeds, will grow under the most mundane of circumstances.
Ignoring it will insure that it will continue to grow and eventually threaten your financial stability.
Gaining control of your credit card debt early on is the most effective and most advised solution.
Pay Off Monthly Try paying off your accrued debt in the same month that you gain it.
Essentially, if you use your credit cards, pay back what you used like clockwork every month.
Control your debt and don't allow it to grow out of bounds.
This is the best way of going about things.
However, sometimes, despite your attempts to the contrary, your credit card debt will blossom wild regardless of your attempt to prune it back.
In these cases, the following simple solutions are your best bet for keeping your head above water.
Stop Using Credit Cards First, and most important, if at all possible stop using your card or cards.
The more you spend, the bigger your debt will be and you cannot effectively control your debt if you are constantly adding to it.
Sometimes, of course, it is unavoidable, but if you can do it, do it and do it quick.
Debt Consolidation Next, try consolidating credit card debt in one monthly payment.
If your debt is spread across multiple cards, then consider transferring the entirety of the debt onto the card with the lowest balance and the lowest interest rate.
The purpose for this is two-fold...
one, it effectively organizes your debt for easier budgeting; one payment a month versus multiple payments is always better, in anyone's opinion, right? Second, consolidation will, in most cases, decrease both your monthly minimum payments as well as your accrued interest for each billing period.
Workable Budget With your debt is consolidated, you can then move onto putting together a workable budget to pay off credit card debt.
To do this, first calculate your monthly minimum now, how much of that is interest, and how much comes out of your actual debt? Now, how much more than your minimum can you afford to pay in a given payment period? Half again? Twice, maybe three times the amount on your statement? Monthly Minimum Multiple Paying the monthly minimum multiple times over the course of a payment period is the best way to go about it.
Three times is a good rule of thumb, as, if your debt has gotten too wild yet, it's a low enough sum of money not to cause your wallet too much pain.
As stated above, the solution to credit card debt is simply to put in more than you take out.
Paying the monthly minimum, despite the assertions of the credit card companies who have much to gain if you take their suggestion, will not help you eliminate your debt.
It will keep it at a steady, stable, level of growth, but that is not helpful in the long run.
No, only by paying your debt down in a steady manner can you solve your debt problems.