Credit card debt is a simple fact of life in the UK.  With £65.5 billion worth of credit card debt currently owing, and 67 million credit cards in circulation it is no surprise that many people are struggling under the weight of their debts.

The economic climate has meant that many more people are having to rely more and more heavily on forms of debt, and especially credit card debt, to keep them going in between pay cheques – if they are lucky enough to receive them. 

Using debt as a crutch in bad times though comes at a price.  Interest on the debt is causing people further and further into debt, with their minimum monthly payments barely making a dent.  The fact is that many people dream of being able to eliminate credit card debt.

But for most people that is nothing but a pipe-dream.  The majority of households in the UK have more than one credit card.  When added to other loans, mortgages, car financing and a lot of other debt the idea of having enough money to eliminate debt will have to stay as an idea, not a practicality.

It is important to pay off your credit card debt though.  With interest being charged on every penny you owe the credit card company the longer you leave paying it off the more you will end up paying back.  Not exactly a great situation to be in.

The ideal of course is not to have run up such debt in the first place.  But circumstances, poor decision making and budgets often mean this is impossible.

So instead many people have to focus on how to eliminate credit card debt. 

Some tips on doing so

• Put your credit cards away.  They are there for emergencies now, not for buying yourself a new pair of jeans, or going out for a nice meal.  If they are out of the way then you are less likely to use them, and so will stop the debt building up more.
• Look at raising your own finance to pay it off.  If the level of debt is too much work out what else you can do to pay it off.  Whilst you may not be able to get another job you can look at shifting unwanted things on Ebay, or doing data entry work from your computer in the evenings.  There are many options available to earn some side money via the Internet, money that can be used to eliminate credit cards debt.
• Debt consolidation.  If the monthly payments are too much then look at eliminating credit card debt by taking out a consolidation loan and using it to pay off your credit cards.  This will help keep the monthly payments down as all the debt will be in one place to one company.