If I want to eliminate overwhelming credit card debt from my life and my language, I will have to devise ways and means to lower my debt.

First I will have to come to terms with the current state of my finances. I must understand what my monthly statements and bills are saying on one hand and what my bank books and pockets are saying on the other. Each of them has their own vested interest in my life, but all of them will agree that it is time to lower my debt.

If we are to be honest with ourselves, our current state of finances is that we are dependent on several credit cards in our wallet. At this point it would be good to establish what credit card companies we owe money from, how much we owe them separately and collectively, and what interest rates apply to each. From there on, we should set our priorities by making bigger, regular payments on that account with the highest interest and maintaining full, timely payments on all the rest. As a rule we should never go below the minimum required, and as much as possible we should never be late with our payments.

Because ATM machines dispense money so efficiently and conveniently, it would be so tempting for me to make a quick cash advance from my credit card and justify the usage as a necessity or an investment. But because I want to lower my debt, I will fall in line at the ATM machine less often and only when I really need to.

Our cash advances are meant to be used at an hour or need. They are our emergency back-up of funds. Those big purchases can wait for a better time when we can afford to spend and not borrow. We just have to start living within our means and spending within what we are actually earning. Otherwise, we will never get out of debt, only deeper into it.

Easy to say but hard to do, I will lower my debt by saving for a rainy day. It seems that with all the expenses there is never enough even to set aside, and money simply flows through your fingers. But it take guts and willpower to hold on a little tighter to your resources and start saving up what little excess you have. Call it something you can really bank on.

We always associate the concept of saving with setting aside extra money. However, savings can also figure in terms of cost-cutting measures. Spending less means saving more, right? It means switching off the lights when theyre not being used to save on electricity or planning our trips and errands around a schedule to save on fuel. It is not always a matter of having extra but more a matter of making extra. The issue on saving should not be regarded with a feeling of dread but more with an attitude of anticipation. The difference we are creating is all for the better, and the effort will all sum up to something productive for us.

If I want to lower my debt, I will devise more ways and means than these. I will simply have to take charge of my life, and so will you.