Tips for Reducing Your Credit Card Debt

Millions of people have a credit card account, and often more than one. Most people who have credit cards hold some kind of balance on the card, which is also known as credit card debt. The average credit card debt per household is $16,007. This debt can last for years and can often be difficult to pay off because of the attached interest rate. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce this debt faster and to keep track of what credit card debt you have. First, it's important to try and stop spending money using a credit card. Credit cards should only be used for emergencies when there is not enough cash to cover the cost. Buying things on impulse with a credit card is a surefire way to increase your debt and make it more difficult to pay off later. Find out how much debt you currently carry, and how much you owe monthly. Knowing how much your monthly expenses are on your credit card payments can be a real wake up call.

• Debt Reduction Tips – Some simple tips to help you reduce that credit card debt.
• Reducing Debt – Information that may help you pay down that debt at a faster pace.
• Facts for Consumers – What everyone should know about credit card debt, and some helpful information for consumers.
• Managing Your Credit – Strategies to help you better manage credit and pay down that debt.
• Debt Reduction Planner – Use this helpful calculator to better determine how to pay off your credit card debt.
• Tackling Debt – Ten steps from Mastercard to assist people with getting rid of excess debt.
• Paying off Debt – Here are some effective ways to eliminate and pay down your credit card debt.
• More Tips – Some more helpful tips to erase the debt faster.
• Prevent Fraud – Be aware of credit card scams that can get you into trouble by checking out these fraud prevention tips.

For those who have a balance on their credit card, the best way to eliminate it is to pay the balance off in full each month. This way, your debt total is completely reduced monthly. As you spend money, try to replace it by also adding the same amount into a savings account. This is a good way to discipline yourself and help you save as well as pay off debt. Create a budget for yourself and your family, and try not to spend money outside of that budget. Budgets are an excellent way to help create a boundary and guideline that will provide you with a better way to gauge how much you spend, and where your money goes. Try to track your spending, and make a list of things you want versus things you need. Include monthly bills such as a mortgage or rent payment, car payment, and utilities. Be sure to include your credit card payments into the budget as well as your spending tracking.

• Build a Budget – Some helpful information about creating your own budget.
• Using Excel – A how-to guide for making a budget using Microsoft Excel.
• 7 Steps – Here are 7 easy steps to drafting up a budget of your own.
• Action Plan – Here is an informative action plan to help you get out of credit card debt.
• Paying off Balance – An easy to use calculator to help determine how to pay off your balance in full.
• 66 Ways to Save Money – This website shows people 66 different ways they can save money in their every day life.
• Savings & Credit – Using simple math, you can determine how to save money and utilize your credit properly.
• Credit Card 101 – How to build and maintain a strong credit card history.

An essential part of paying off credit cards is coming up with a game plan. Remember that paying only the monthly minimum amount due will only add to the amount of time it takes to pay the total debt off. In addition, interest continues to grow and the time spent to pay off the debt increases. Come up with some kind of payoff plan, and determine how much over the monthly minimum you will pay, along with how many months it will take to pay off the total due in full. Create a spreadsheet or some other type of file, so you can track your progress. Coming up with new strategies, especially minimizing spending and maximizing saving, will help you to get rid of that pesky credit card debt much more quickly.

• Payoff Calculator – Find out what it will take to pay off your credit card, and how long.
• Goal Calculator – Use this tool to help you get a better idea of how quickly you can reach your goal using a payoff plan.
• The Snowball Plan – A very popular method called the snowball plan helps you to pay off credit debt faster.
• Fees – Part of credit card debt is the fees the companies charge; find out how to avoid them here.
• Balance Transfers – What everyone should know about credit card balance transfers.
• Negotiating Debt – When all else fails, there are some negotiating strategies that you can try to help get the debt paid off faster.
• Facts for Kids – Even kids should know about credit cards, and how to avoid getting trapped in debt.
• Statistics – Some interesting numbers about credit card debt, and statistics that may surprise you.