Two decades ago very few people in the UK had one, today there are 100 million credit and debit cards in the UK. Combined with the precarious state of the world economy this has created a huge amount of credit card debt in the UK.
Credit Card debt has a habit of slowly sneaking up on you, only making itself known when the problem has become too large for you to manage easily. With large interest rates applied to the money you owe it is essential for your long term financial health that you do everything in your power to clear these debts as quickly as possible.
It is important to look at Credit Card debt as it relates to your entire current financial situation.
This of course means creating a budget of your income and expenses. With a budget in place you will be able to see how much money you have left at the end of the month, and therefore how much you can afford to pay your creditors.
The problem with large credit card debts is that it can get to the stage that you are paying back a substantial amount of money each month but in doing so you are mostly only clearing the interest due on the money owed.
In this situation it makes sense to get in touch with the creditors and explain your dilemma asking if they would be willing to reduce the interest charged on the debt to enable you to repay the money owed.
Of course, the creditors are not legally obliged to do so but many will be willing to help you out, especially if you produce a budget outlining the situation and detailing the specific amount that you will be paying each month.
It may be worth applying for a new credit card which is offering a 0% introductory offer and transferring as much of the debt onto the new card as possible. You can then use the money you would have spent on interest on clearing the debt itself. As you clear these credit card debts be sure to take a pair of scissors to the cards and put them where they belong.
As always, contact the Citizens Advice Bureau if you feel your debts are getting the better of you.