1. Hide your cards. Like the saying goes "out of site, out of mind". If you hide the cards somewhere where you don't have easy access to them you won't be tempted to use them. I have recently done this and it really keeps me from buying items I don't necessarily need. If you only pay with cash you really see when your money is going
2.Take stock. Make sure you know exactly just how much debt you have. In order to hit your target you need to be brutally honest with yourself. According to "8 Steps to Reducing Credit Card Debt", there action plan is to write down debt and interest rate on every card you have.
3. Choose your payoff method. There are two possible methods you could use says "8 Steps...". The first is to put all your extra cash into the highest-interest card while paying the minimums on the others. This method is the fastest way, overall, to lower your debt. Once the first card is paid off, you have even more extra cash, and should apply it to the card with the next-highest rate, and so on, creating a debt payoff snowball effect. The second strategy is to pay off your card with the lowest balance first while continuing to pay the minimums on the others. Though this is not the most cost-effective way to banish your debt, it's the fastest way to eliminate debt on a single card, and it can be a psychological boost to eliminate a bill for good. No one method is better then the other and it is up to you to figure which is right for your situation. For me I focused on paying off the one with the lowest balance and the one lowest interest rate first because I have a zero interest rate credit card which I will mention more about later.
4. Negotiate an interest rate decrease. Now this is something that I did not know was possible but it is something I will definitely consider doing myself. Want tips on how to negotiate lower interest rates with your bank, then check out the following links
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/4-ways-negotiate-credit-card-terms-1267.php
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/herigstad-lower-credit-card-interest-rates-1272.php
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-terms-negotiate-change-1267.php
5. Consider doing balance transfers. You can move debt from one card over to another that has a lower or zero interest rate. This works best when you owe relatively small amounts on credit. For me I was able to get a credit card with my bank, Wells Fargo, where I had 15 months of zero interest. Since I really didn't need another credit card I used it to just transfer the debt I had on another card, which ended up paying it off. Now the monthly payments I was making before I make on my Wells Fargo card plus a little more and I have 15 months to pay it off before interest occurs on it. Other banks who offer this are Bank of America and Chase, with both you get 12 months zero interest.
6. Use unexpected income towards your debt. While it make be tempting to spend this money it would best to use it towards paying off your cards. It is money you normally don't plan on receiving so you know you can survive without using it for something else. This is a great idea if you receive a tax refund this year.
7. Roll over the minimum payment from one card to the other. Basically this means if you have multiple cards after you pay off one apply that card's minimum payment to the payment you are making on the next account. Your total monthly credit card payment remains the same however the payments are restructured. ("How to Reduce Credit Card Debt" ehow.com)
8. Make a budget and stick to it. Look at all the income you are receiving compared to all the expenses you have. Budget out your income so that it covers all your expenses. Then look for services that you cut or downgrade on. You then can apply the money you save from these downgrades towards your credit card payments. According to "8 Steps" Write down three ways you can cut back immediately, and cancel or downgrade some services. Divide your monthly discretionary budget into weekly allotments so you'll have a better handle on whether you're staying on track.
9. Sell old clothes, textbooks and other items you don't need or want anymore. If you have clothes that don't fit or you no longer want why have them keep taking up space in your closet. This will help you not only get your closet organize but put some money in your pockets for paying your debt. And if you have old college textbooks that are now being used as paperweights let those go as well. While this may only be a few bucks it can go a long way towards being debt free.
10. Paying off credit card purchases right away. While I highly encourage you not to, if you have to make a purchase with credit make sure it is something you can pay off right way when the credit card bill comes.
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