Let’s turn our attention now to some of the options you have to eliminate your credit card debt. One straightforward way is to create a monthly budget that takes into account all of your liabilities and assets (including taxable income) and then dedicates a set amount of money per month to getting out of debt. You can engage in self-debt consolidation by moving some money around, pooling money from savings to pay off a particularly high interest credit card, for instance.

Over time, as long as your budget allows you enough debt consolidation money to pay down the principles as well as the interest your debts are earning, you can become debt free. The only drawback here is that, if you need to make a large purchase, you may be unable to do so at great rates if you’re drowning in creditor obligations.

You can try negotiating directly with creditors or mediating a negotiation through a third party. While not all creditors will consent to reduce your rates or let you off the hook for some of your debt, negotiation is often worth a shot, particularly if you’re haggling over a small matter. After all, small bad marks on your credit reports can lead to lowered FICO scores and consequently higher interest rates later.

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