To begin lowering your credit card debt, make a budget.  List all of the monthly bills that must be paid.  Include the minimum payment for all credit debts as well as utilities and living expenses.  Once this has been done the remainder of the monthly income is what is available to begin paying off the credit debt.  While it may be tempting to put all of this disposable income towards the credit debt it is also necessary to build an emergency fund.  Choose a small percentage of the disposable income to go into this emergency fund.  Often people who have large credit debt have accrued that debt by needing money in an emergency situation and having none available.  By creating an emergency fund one is able to refrain from adding to the current credit debt should there be another emergency.

Now divide the remainder of the disposable income between the various credit debts.  Begin paying this additional amount each month.  It is important to pay this extra amount and not just the minimum balance because paying the minimum balance makes it almost impossible to pay off the actual debt.  When paying the minimum balance only, most of the money is going to interest that has accumulated on the original debt.  While the credit rating is not being hurt, the debt is not being paid off.  Other options on paying of the credit debt include determining which card has the highest interest rate and using all of the money to pay that card first.  Another option is choosing the credit line with the lowest balance and using all of the money to pay that card first.  Any of these three options allow debt payoff, choose one best for the situation.

After creating a budget and making additional payments on each credit line it is imperative that no new lines of credit are opened.  If the budget is too restrictive and does not allow all of the monthly expenses to be met reevaluate it and determine how much is being sent to credit lenders.  If new lines of credit are opened it will only make paying off the credit debt that much harder.  Just as new lines of credit should be avoided using existing lines of credit should also be avoided.  Any new debt will have the same result.

Once additional payments have been made consistently for several months call the various lenders and request a lower interest rate.  Many lenders will lower their interest rates if they see their borrower is making a good faith effort to lower his or her balance.  While this won’t always work it is worth the effort to give it a try.  If it is possible to lower even a few interest rates it will reduce the overall amount that will eventually need to be paid, thus allowing the debt to be paid off more quickly.