A Few Ways To Ease Credit Card Debt

Got a little too much credit card balance to handle? There are many ways to help cut it down and a short look among websites and personal finance magazines can easily show you there is no shortage of advice. I’ve read a whole lot of them over the last couple years and if you apply them religiously, most of them should work.

Here’s a bit of advice based on my own experience cleaning out my credit card debt.

* Organize your debt - Make a list of all your cards, how much you owe from each, and current APR. This will help you get a clearer idea of which ones are hurting you the most - naturally those ones with high finance charges that you’re carrying large balances on. Try to pay down the most damaging ones first.

* Use your rewards points - Some cards will allow you to use your rewards as card payment. You’ll probably get a bad deal, but with large enough reward points, it should help ease the burden.

* Call up your card issuer to arrange better payment terms - If you have too much debt and feel that settling it will take you too long, call up the card company to waive over-the-card-limit charges and late fees, even for just a couple of months. At worst, they’ll deny your request. At best, you can save a ton in additional fees. If it doesn’t work the first time, try again. Persistence, in this instance, can do wonders.