The easy credit society is running out of steam for many people – it was easy enough to get credit at the start and so easy to buy lots of stuff on credit cards, but there is an inevitable payback time.
Nowadays there are many people living a nightmare of having run up large amounts on several credit cards find that their monthly repayments are so high they have no money spare after paying their living expenses to actually pay them off, and so are stuck with paying the minimum amount off-and still scrimping to do it. Paying off the card becomes a more and more distant policy.
Far be it from me to suggest a consolidation loan – yes, these do work for some but you can end up paying even more over a long period of time. It may be better to try to pay off the cards in a systematic way – the discipline you will have to use to do this will be an important learning experience for the future. Here are some suggestions for clearing your card debt:
If you have a card that is not up to the limit you can see if you can do a balance transfer at 0% onto this card from another card up to its limit. If you can then clear another card by this method you should be able to use another balance transfer to move even more money onto it. Look for really good deals – some companies offer up to 12 months interest free- but even 6 months gives you a little breathing space. Move the balance from the card charging you the highest interest.
If you are up to the limit on all cards then find the card with the highest interest and try to pay this off as quickly as you can. Keep all the other cards at minimum payment and start really pruning your other costs to make the best payments you can.