Credit cards are one of the worst forms of debt to have as the high interest rates mean you almost never pay the balance the off in its entirety. This means that once you build up credit card debts it’s very hard to get rid of them and in some cases they just seem to grow and grow without you even noticing. Below are a few methods you can use to help eliminate credit card debt without winning the pools.

Ask for your credit limit to be lowered
A lot of credit card providers automatically increase your credit limit when you get close to reaching it, providing you are a good customer. This just adds to the temptation of spending more because you know the money is there. When this happens you need to phone your card provider and ask them to lower the limit to within a couple of hundred pounds of your present balance. This then gives you a few pounds spare for an emergency but you can’t go retail therapy shopping every weekend. Then when you have paid off some of your balance do the same again…and again and again so that the temptation to spend is taken away for good.

Physically get rid of the cards
If you don’t have the cards in your purse or wallet then you can’t use them. Save the one that has credit on it but also has a low interest rate and place it in a tin can full of water in the freezer. This allows you to get access to the card in an emergency but it stops you from going impulse shopping because you’re bored! As for the rest of your cards – cut them up and keep the pieces in a jar as a symbol of your new credit card free lifestyle.

Look for a new card with 0% interest on balance transfers
It may sound contradictory to say apply for a new credit card but if you can get one that has a 0% interest offer on balance transfers then its worth doing. Once you have the card you can transfer as much of your current balance onto it as you can and pay no interest on it for the length of the offer. This then means that every pound you pay towards that card comes off the money you owe and doesn’t get swallowed up by the interest charges. If you can get two or three different credit cards you can play the balance transfer game over and over again.

Pay off the worst cards first
If you can’t get a new card then you need to move as much of your outstanding debt as you can to the credit card with the lowest interest rate. Then you should concentrate on paying off the cards with the highest interest rates first. This may not be the ideal situation but it can still save you plenty of money in the long run and you’ll pay the debts off quicker.

Take out a personal loan
Personal loans often have much lower interest rates than credit cards and so if it is possible to take out a loan for the amount you owe on your cards you can consolidate the debts and save on the interest payments. It is vital however that once you do this you close the credit card accounts otherwise the temptation is always there to spend on them again.

You can probably think of other ways to limit the use of credit cards so they can be paid off once and for all. If you can then we’d love to hear them.