Paid Off

Happy to annouce that I paid off my 2 credit cards and it feels great. More money to keep in my own pockets at the end of the month.

Tips for paying off your credit card debt.

Step1 Stop charging items to your credit cards the instant you realize that you are in trouble.

Step2 Pay off cards with small balances that you can afford to clear. Cancel these cards or put them away in a locked box, so that you are not tempted to use them.

Step3 Talk to the remaining credit card companies, and ask them to lower your annual-percentage rate (APR). Many companies will do this to keep a good customer.

Step4 Choose the credit card with the highest APR, and focus all your energy on paying this card off. When you have extra money, it should go into payments on this card. When this card is cleared, cancel it or lock it away, and turn your attention to the card with the next highest APR.

Step5 Make regular payments on the other credit cards. Try to make more than the minimum payments. Making only minimum payments means that you pay two or three times the amount you originally charged in interest fees alone.

Step6 Consider getting a part-time job, doing some freelance work from home, holding a garage sale or auctioning items online to help pay your credit card bills.