small business magazine

Let's face it. You've got a pile of credit card debt and you have no idea what you can do. Allow me to share some matter-of-fact solutions to your predicament. No matter how much you would love to wave a magic wand and make the debt disappear, it won't. No, these will not be magical solutions, but practical solutions so you can get out of debt and remain out of debt.

The first move is to understand that your spending is out of control. It truly is. I know you had excellent reasons to purchase as much as you did. Most likely they were emotional reasons. Everyone expected you to buy all that stuff. You were emotionally drawn to it. You just could not help yourself.

Bear in mind, commercials you read, hear or watch have just one goal: to get money from your pocket into the pocket of the advertiser. Commercials build on emotion. You have to comprehend this and begin acting sensibly on the subject of money.

Hence, now is the time to get sensible. Which means you should begin using money management strategies that work in your best interests for the long run. You'll have to let go of emotions and do things that make sense. Toward that end, here are some no-nonsense measures you can take to decrease your debt and live debt free.

First, determine how long it will take you to get rid of your debt. Repaying the minimum required every month, it will probably take 5 to 10 years to repay your debt. That is if you do not add to it by buying more things. You can probably pay more and may even be able to negotiate a lower interest rate with your credit card companies. Either of these steps can help you become debt free quicker.

Second, put a little extra cash away for emergencies. Everyone has unexpected bills. You can anticipate the bills emergencies will create by establishing an emergency fund to pay for these unforeseen and uninvited events.

Third, since you can likely tell by now, you are going to be running pretty tight on money. Thus, you'll need to create a budget. Find out how much cash is coming in and what your mandatory expenses are. Take into account in these bills money for eliminating your debt, and your emergency fund as well as other expense like food, housing, utilities and transportation. Locate places to cut back. Don't let other people kick your emotions into spending mode. Adhere to your budget.

Fourth, when you are having difficulty reducing your debt, you should get help from a credit counseling agency. The U.S. Trustee Program has an inventory of credit counseling services that will provide assistance. Some provide their services without cost (and are compensated by the credit card agencies) while other agencies charge you a fee for their assistance. Ensure you understand the fee structure before you contract to participate in their program.

The more you know about credit and debt the more easily you will be able to handle your hard earned dollars and stay free of debt.