Seven steps to cutting credit card debt.  Your own debt reduction plan:

1. Take inventory:  Sit down with your latest credit card statements.  This first step may be the most difficult if you are in denial but you will feel better in the long run.
    

2. Sort by pain:  Use the following process to organize the statements into an order of the most painful down to the least.
1. Pick the one that is causing you the most problems.  It may be past due and in collection or bother you for some other reason.  Put it on the far right of your table.
2. Pick the one that is causing you the least problems.  Put in on the far left of your table.
3. Pick the next most painful statement. Put it next to the first most painful one (to the left of it).
4. Pick the next least painful statement.  Put next to the least painful statement (to the right of it).
5. Continue until you have the statements laid out from right to left with the most painful ones on the far right.  Heading to the left they should become less and less painful.
6. Now record the names, amounts and interest rates on a tablet in order from most painful to the least.
    

3. Find the money: You have two basic choices for finding the money to pay off the bills.  Try to avoid the temptation of borrowing more money from another source to refinance and consolidate your debt.  Unless you do the next two steps you will be deeper in debt in a short time.
   1. Stop spending.  Take a really hard look at where your money is going and stop spending.  All you really need is food, shelter, clothing and (public) transportation.  Look at these money saving ideas.  There is money hidden throughout your lifestyle.
   2. Increase your income.  Work overtime, second or third jobs.  Look at these income sources.  Refinance your car loan with E-LOAN today
       

4. Make a plan:  Take action to pay off the most painful debt or the smallest one just to make some progress.  Match your new-found cash with the payments you owe and work out a time to pay off each statement.  Make sure you cut up the credit cards so you don’t increase the credit card balances instead of reducing them.  Use cash instead and keep track of every expenditure in a spending notebook.  Don’t cheat on your debt reduction plan.
    

5. Call the cards – negotiate:  Call the credit card companies and collection agencies.  Tell them that you have a plan to pay them off but you need them to 1) reduce the interest rate, 2) waive some of the fees, and 3) give you the time to make the plan work.  Then stick to the plan.
    

6. Make it automatic:  Have your payments made automatically by your bank if possible.  Otherwise make sure you have a calendar of payments that you follow without fail.  A budget makes it easier.
    

7. Repeat:  As you make progress with payments and negotiations, revise your plan to pay off more and more cards.

These seven steps to cutting debt work for credit card debt or any kind of debt.  Remember that you cannot continue to spend the same way you did to get into debt.  Move on to being financially responsible. 
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