http://www.aboutdebtrelief.com/debt-management/credit-card-debt-management/ Credit card debt management is not impossible on your own, but if you need help, turn to a credit card debt management company before you turn to a bankruptcy lawyer. en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 Do you recognize the signs of credit card debt and see yourself headed that way? You may not be in trouble yet, but you are heeding the warning signs. Before you check into a debt management company, try a little credit card debt management of your own. Where Do I Start? Credit card debt management doesn't have to involve a debt management company. First, try to consolidate all of your cards onto one card with a lower interest rate. If you have good credit, shop the Internet for credit cards offering a 0% interest rate. This is usually an introductory rate, so you want to make sure the rate after the introductory period isn't astronomically high. You should also find one with no fee for balance transfers, and one that will let you use one of the checks you get with your statements to pay off credit cards that you can't transfer to the new card. (Be careful with this though. Sometimes these are treated as cash advances. As long as it's treated as a balance transfer, you should be fine as long as you do not exceed your credit limit.) Usually the introductory period is one year or less, so you would need to take the money you were paying towards your other cards and pay it towards this one instead. You may not get your credit card debt entirely wiped out this way, but it's a start. What If I Need More Help? If you need more help, it may be time to turn to a debt management company. As experts in credit card debt management, they can also teach you credit card debt management skills to keep you debt free. Usually these companies offer credit card debt consolidation loans to help you pay off your credit card debt. What happens is the credit counselors who work for these companies act as an agent for you in dealing with your creditors. They will negotiate a lower interest rate and lower monthly payments, and in some cases they can even waive late fees and other fees. Of course, this is all subject to the agreement of the creditors, but they're usually accommodating because this way they know you're trying to pay your debt off, so they don't incur any collection fees or attorney fees. Credit card debt management doesn't have to be the end. In fact, the right credit card debt management plan can lead you to credit card debt relief. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT