However, we can't shut down the credit card industry just because of a few irresponsible people (or even if it's more than few). That is not a solution for beating excessive credit card debt. There are real benefits associated with credit cards that can't be overlooked.

The issue of excessive credit card debt can be looked at from 2 angles.

First is addressing excessive credit card debt problem at the industry level, and second is to focus on the excessive credit card debt problem from the individual credit card user level.

The first method involves increasing awareness of the excessive credit card debt problem to the masses. This is more or less being done currently - the state of our economy right now has made the average consumer aware of the problem. However, there should also be an effort to tackle this problem of excessive credit card debt at an even deeper level. This means trying to devise a way to change the current practices of the credit card industry. Particularly their practice of sending a gazillion credit card offers to people over and over again, despite of their ability to pay for one or multipld credit cards with balances. In many ways, the credit card industry has gotten away with murder and has brought on the nations excessive credit card debt problems themselves. But much thought needs to go into devising a change that includes the proper checks and balances for the industry as a whole.

Case studies should be taken up, statistics gathered and a proper forum formed (with representatives from the credit card holders and from the credit card suppliers). As of now, the credit card suppliers just seem to be engaged in coming out with new products and getting customers enrolled to those products. There is little attention paid towards addressing the problem of excessive credit card debt in the real sense. Perhaps attending mandatory seminars on the root causes of excessive credit card debt could be made part of the credit card application process for potential new card holders. I can see that this could be a reasonable requirment for college students, for instance, when offered that first EVER credit card account.

Another way of dealing with the problem of excessive credit card debt could be developing a system for calculation of applicable credit card limit at the individual level - no standard/product-based credit limits. Then there could be mechanisms put in place for proactively warning the users about excessive credit card debt (based on their credit card usage and balance) or even imposition of early restrictions when the first signs that lead to excessive credit card debt appear. At the credit card holders' level, the treatment of the problem of excessive credit card debt would include following of best practices (on credit card usage and avoidance of excessive credit card debt) by the individuals themselves. A checklist or a set of questions could be provided to individuals for recognising the first signs of excessive credit card debt.

So, the problem of excessive credit card debt can surely be dealt with by putting together some serious changes at a broader, national or government level together with increased spending and debt management discipline at the individual credit card holders' level.

Credit cards, as the name suggests, are cards on which you can get credit - i.e. borrow money. Your credit card is a representative of the credit account that you hold with the credit card supplier. Whatever payments you make using your credit card you are actually borrowing from the credit card lender, and it is immediately added as debt to the credit card. Your total credit card debt is the total amount you owe credit card supplier.

You must settle your credit card debt on a monthly basis. So, you receive a monthly statement of activity and charges on your credit card, which shows your total credit card debt. You must make the monthly minimum payment on your credit card debt by the payment due date, or risk incurring a late fee and additional interest charges. However, you have the option of paying off your credit card in full as well.

Making mininum payments on your credit card will invariably result in an increasing credit card debt amount, because the interest rates on credit card debt are generally higher than the interest rates on other kind of loans. Further, interest charges are added on to your credit card debt each month to form the new balance or the new credit card debt amount. If you continue making partial payments (or no payments) the interest charges are calculated afresh on the new credit card debt. So you end up paying interest on the last month's interest too. Thus your credit card debt accumulates rapidly and soon you find that what was once a relatively small credit card debt has ballooned into a big amount which you find almost impossible to pay. Moreover, if you continue to take no control over your spending habits, your credit card debt rises even faster.

This is how the vicious circle of credit card debt works.

I think I read somewhere recently that teen credit card debt statistics indicate that a lot of teens in the US carry a significant amount of balance on their credit cards - something they should not do with little or no income and considering their limited needs for credit. Though these teen credit card debt statistics would give you a fair idea of how our teens are faring in the world of credit cards, it's really not so important to talk about the statistics as it is to talk about the ways of improving teen credit card debt statistics.

So how do you influence teen credit card debt statistics in a positive way?

As you must have guessed, this start with education.

Education about managing money and finances has to start early in the life of our children. We are not talking about just credit card related education but financial responsibility as a whole - the importance of managing debt and finances in general.

Teen credit card debt statistics cannot be improved without explaining the actual value of money to the teens (and also teaching them how to use it). So, for bettering teen credit card debt statistics, we need to give them an all around education on managing the own money and finances. This can start with asking them to maintain a record of their pocket money and how they spend it. Also, engage them in discussions related to money management (of course, you have to customize the discussion to suit their level of knowledge and maturity).

The next step would be to open a bank savings account for them and teach them the various aspects of managing it. Teach them what debt is, how to use it to their advantage, and when debt is considered bad.

Debit cards and a checking account could be the next step for them. Once they start becoming comfortable with doing their bank transactions by themselves, you can get a prepaid credit card for them (something that has a preset limit of $200-250). You could also use a low limit credit card (with $250 credit limit) and teach them how to use it.

This hands on experience while still under your guidance as a parent is invaluable. And who knows, you could end up fostering a true entrepreneur or financial genious.

Follow a step-by-step approach to ensure that your teens learn responsible money management, and you can keep them out of those horrifying teen credit card debt statistics, thereby contributing to improved national statistices for teenage credit card debt.

Well, credit card debt negotiation starts right from your credit accounts where you have the most hard-hitting credit card debt. This means credit card debt negotiation has to be taken up with your current credit providers. Before you misinterpret it, let me clarify that we are not talking about chucking off a portion of your debt through credit card debt negotiation. We are talking primarily about using credit card debt negotiations for getting the APR on your current credit cards reduced to some lower figure.

So, credit card debt negotiation is about talking to your current credit card suppliers, informing them about your intention to clear off your credit card debt and using your skills (credit card debt negotiation skills) to negotiate a lower APR rate with them. Basically, credit card debt negotiation is about asking your current credit card suppliers for help/assistance in clearing off your credit card debt. If credit card debt negotiation is successful, it will save you not only money (due to reduction in APR) but also the hassle that is associated with looking for a new credit card (to transfer balance).

However, if the credit card debt negotiation with your current credit card supplier doesn't yield the desired results, you will have to look for other credit suppliers who can help you in consolidating your debt. Again, you will need your negotiation skills (rather credit card debt negotiation skills) to get a good deal from them. If your credit card debt negotiations work out well, you might be able to get a really low standard APR or you might get a longer term on 0% APR (or you might get both). These are really the most important things and your credit card debt negotiations should concentrate more on these than anything else. The other thing to include on your credit card debt negotiation would be the credit limit and other benefits. Here, you are basically trying out the possibility of getting a better credit card as part of your credit card debt negotiation. For people with really bad credit rating, getting an unsecured bank loan or getting another credit card (for balance transfer) is really difficult. For them, getting an unsecured bank loan or credit card is what you would term as credit card debt negotiation.

So, don't hesitate in negotiating your credit card debt. Credit card debt negotiation is a wise and workable option available for all.

Well, you reduce credit card debt by preventing it from increasing and by paying it off as quickly and systemmatically as you possible can.
Simple, isn't it? NOT.

If it was that simple to reduce credit card debt, then there wouldn't be so many people with credit card debt related problems. We would have been able to reduce credit card debt problems and finally eliminate them (or reduce them significantly). There is all kinds of advice available on how to reduce credit card debt, but still nothing much seems to change. The problem still seems to persist and in fact, worsen. However, it's not that difficult to reduce credit card debt. As we just said, there is a lot of advice available on how to accomplish it, and the only thing you need to do is put that advice to practice in real life.

And you will benefit in so many ways once you reduce credit card debt.

So the first step to reduce credit card debt is to prevent it from building up to dangerous proportions. The two most important ways of implementing this step are balance transfers, and use of cash instead of your plastic cards.

Balance transfer is often treated as the number one measure to reduce credit card debt. This is really something that can help reduce credit card debt by slowing down the pace at which your credit card debt is getting built. It also provides you relief in terms of the APR being 0% for initial 6-9 months (and hence helps reduce credit card debt faster). To reduce credit card debt using this mechanism, you need to transfer your balance from your current credit card(s) onto another credit card that has a lower APR than your current card. Thus you reduce credit card debt by preventing it from increasing so rapidly.

The other preventive measure to reduce credit card debt is to use cash instead of your credit card (as such, hard earned cash is difficult to get out of pocket as compared to just using plastic). So you reduce credit card debt by not adding more to it. That is the simplest way to reduce credit card debt and probably of all the strategies, the most important one to always implement in your life.

However, you can only accomplish this if you stick to your resolution to reduce credit card debt. Otherwise you'll find youself in the same boat, and that boat will eventually sink from the weight of your credit card debt. So stick to it and keep your resolve. If you do, you WILL reduce your credit card debt and eventually get out from under it.

So, choosing a proper credit card debt counseling company becomes a critical factor in determining the success of credit card debt counseling. Always go for a reputable credit card debt counseling company, even if their fee is a bit higher.

Remember that professional credit card debt counseling can help you in not just eliminating your credit card debt, but eliminating your credit card debt in a way that is so cost effective as to more than offset the fee credit card debt counseling services may charge you. Moreover, proper credit card debt counseling can save you a lot of time and energy that you would otherwise spend in studying all about credit card debt, gathering information about various credit card debt elimination measures and comparing these measures.

Further, these credit card debt counseling companies can present more than one solution to you from which you can choose whatever appeals the most to you. These credit card debt counseling agencies can also get your credit card debt settled much quicker than if you were trying to do it all by yourself (and without any credit card debt counseling). This can save you a lot of money in interest, if you're continuing to make your credit card payment. This can also save your credit rating from being damaged if you've gotten into a bind and suddenly can NOT make your payments.

Credit card debt counseling could bring to light things which you would not have been able to see - like risks with the approach you were thinking to adopt - and protect you from making serious mistakes. A person who earns his/her living as a professional credit card debt counselor will know the current best programs, consolidation offers, and tricks of the trade in dealing with creditors and getting debt reductions and lowered interest rates - the kind of stuff lay people don't know about.

There is no doubt about the benefits that credit card debt counseling can bring to you. However, you need to be careful and avoid the fraudsters and go with someone who has a good reputation.

If you are determined to get out of credit card debt you absolutely can.

Though it's a bit difficult to get out of credit card debt, it is far from impossible. All you need to get out of credit card debt is determination and planning. Both are equally important (actually, determination is more important). Determination doesn't come without proper reason.
So, you need to first ask this question to yourself "What will I get if I am able to get out of credit card debt?", "What difference will it make in my life?", "What's in it for me?" or "Is it really financially smart to get completely out of credit card debt?". Use your answers to these questions to build your determination and commitment.

The fact that all the nagging via mail and phone (by the credit card supplier and/or their collection agent), will be gone should do good to strengthen your determination and should provide you with a reason why you should endeavour to get out of credit card debt.

Think about the stress-free life after you get out of credit card debt, the extra money you'll have at the end of the month, your ability to actually save money and become financially secure. Try to link various reasons together and try to see the benefits of them transferring to your overall life. All these collectively will help in bolstering your determination and keep your commitment and desire to become debt free strong.

The second thing that you need to get out of credit card debt is planning. Planning smartly to get out of credit card debt will start with making a list of the credit cards that you currently posses, and noting not just the debt amount but also the APR for each of them. The sum total of all these various credit card debts will likely be an eye opener. You also need to check if you have been defaulting on payments on any of these credit cards (and hence incurring a late fee). You will need to avoid that when working the PLAN you make to get out of credit card debt.

he next step in getting out of credit card debt is to look closely at your current financial situation and make an assessment of how you expect your future to affect that.

Next comes the research to check the various balance transfer offers and programs available in the market to see if one of these can prove beneficial to you.

Use all this information to calculate how much time you will require to get out of credit card debt and how you will distribute the debt payment across your various credit cards. Ensure that you payoff the credit card debt with the highest interest rate first, and also make certain that you don't incur late payment fees for delinquent credit card payments.

Anyone who has read any newspaper articles on Credit card debt would already know what credit card debt consolodation is. However, just for the benefit of others, credit card debt consolodation, in simple terms, is the process of consolidating debt which you hold on various high APR credit cards onto just one low APR credit card. Thus, the main benefit of credit card debt consolodation is realised in terms of APR reduction (and hence reduction in credit card debt growth rate). This is touted as the most important benefit (and sometimes the sole benefit) from credit card debt consolodation.

However, credit card debt consolodation comes with few more benefits as well. Some of these credit card debt consolodation benefits are widely publicised by the credit card suppliers and some not so much:

1. Initial APR: As mentioned above, lower APR is the biggest benefit from credit card debt consolodation. Since credit card debt consolodation is used by credit card suppliers as a tool to attract consumers, they generally offer a 0% APR for a initial period of 6-9 months of you joining their credit card debt consolodation programme i.e. first few months after you get the new credit card.

2. Standard APR: Lower standard APR (i.e. the long term APR) is the other important benefit from credit card debt consolodation. Though not all credit card suppliers offer a lower standard APR with credit card debt consolodation some do design credit card debt consolodation programmes with good standard APR. These credit card debt consolodation programmes offer a trade-off between initial and standard APR rates.

3. 0% on purchases: This is another common benefit from credit card debt consolodation. The 0% interest (or some lower percentage) on purchases is offered as an incentive for credit card debt consolodation. This credit card debt consolodation benefit is again applicable only for a short initial period.

4. Easy management: This credit card debt consolodation benefit is not as discussed as others. However, one benefit of credit card debt consolodation (from multiple to single credit card) is the fact that you need to track and manage a lesser number of credit cards.

5. Other benefits: The credit card debt consolodation exercise might bring you some more benefits in terms of rebates, discounts and reward points (especially if you move to a co-branded card as part of credit card debt consolodation)

You can approach credit card debt settlement in 2 ways. You can either go for credit card debt settlement all by yourself or you can take advice from a credit counselling company or a professional. Any of these credit card debt settlement methods are fine, as long as they work for you and help you get debt-free quickly.

If you go for credit card debt settlement all by yourself, you will need to analyse the various options available to you e.g. checking on various balance transfer offers available in the market, checking the short term loan options with the banks etc etc. However, if you want to take credit card debt settlement advice from a professional, you should be able to trust the advisor fully. So you need to check the credentials of the credit card debt settlement service.

There are hordes of people and companies that advertise "credit card debt settlement in one day" - No matter how fantastic that sounds, it's just not achievable. Such credit card debt settlement offers are generally not genuine.

You need to understand that credit card debt settlement cannot happen overnight (unless you win a lottery or something like that). It's a process that involves time. Consulting with you to get your full credit card debt picture, and then to work and negotiate with your creditors takes time. So, beware of such agencies promising miracles overnight.

That said it's important to mention that there are a lot of good credit card debt settlement advisors/companies available who will not only give you genuine credit card debt settlement advice but will help you throughout until you are finally out of debt. Their advice may, in fact, more than compensate for the fee that they charge you for credit card debt settlement. Often these professional credit debt services will offer an initial free consultation, and that could be enough to get you started.

Bottom line is that reputable credit card debt settlement companies/advisors will be able to help you in the best way if you tell them your current financial situation correctly and you are commited to settling your credit card debt. Your future plans are important too, as they might influence the decision on what route for credit card debt settlement would work the best for you.

Be sure that once you are done with your credit card debt settlement, you take measures to avoid falling into the credit card debt pit again.