Many people own a credit card or two but statistics show that most of them are in need of credit card debt relief. Do you find yourself in a similar situation?

Here are practical tips to help you get out of credit card debt:

Stop using your credit cards.

If you are having a hard time keeping up with your bills, it only makes sense to stop charging more debts to your credit cards. Keep in mind that your outstanding balances incur the additional interest rate costs with each passing month. Continuously using your card for new purchases would be too risky at this point.

Monitor your account.

It is impossible that some of the charges in your account are not even your own bills. It is not uncommon for unauthorized or erroneous transactions to happen. Always check your billing statements to make sure that you are not paying for someone else’s purchases.

Pay more than the minimum payment of your card.

All credit cards have a minimum due payment required each billing period. Thus, the cardholder may choose to maintain a balance and submit only the minimum due payment. Although this is fine for your credit card issuer, such a habit only puts you into deeper debt problem. The sooner you can pay off your balances, the safer you will be from the bad debt.

Pay on time.

Late penalty fees can add more burden to your financial obligations. Why should you pay more when you can avoid such fees by submitting your payments on time? If it’s not possible to pay your full balance, pay as much as you can before your due date.

Consolidate your credit card debt.

If you currently have outstanding balances in two different credit cards, consider transferring over your balances to a zero-interest credit card. This way, you can focus on paying only the original amount of debt you owe, without the interest rate. However, the 0% APR will only be applicable for a limited time. Therefore, do your best to complete your payments within the zero-interest period.