Credit Card Debt Consolidation Johnny Appleseed Part of the problem with society these days is the amount of individuals that are living with credit card debt; this increase is due in part to the ease with which cards can be applied for, and issued. When you owe thousands of dollars then you need to seriously consider ways to pay off the debt before it gets too late. The best way to salvage this situation would be to opt for credit card debt relief. There is no easy way around this but once you have come to this decision you must stop using your card to pay for goods otherwise you will never clear the debts. The reluctance to make a decision can create further delays to obtaining credit card debt relief. Whilst there are a number of debt consolidation options, the three mentioned below are the most common used for people in similar situations. The most obvious move to start with is where the debtor is in a position to pay back the debt; they can opt for debt consolidation with a credit card that charges low interest and clear off the single debt in installments every month. If this method is not available then a consolidation loan may be a debt relief answer where a number of debts can be replaced with just one at a lower monthly installment. The only problem here is that the debtor must be determined enough to stick to the plan they have made until the end. Remember, consolidation by card or loan will only work if the debtor has not already damaged their credit history. If this avenue of credit card debt relief is not available then the next option is to look towards negotiation with the card issuer directly or through a company that specializes in debt relief. Normally, when these negotiations proceed approximately half the debt will need to be paid and the remainder to be written off by the creditors. Bankruptcy should always be viewed as a last resort when all other options have been tried as there are serious consequences to this course of action. Once this option has been decided upon the debtor must be in no doubt that they will find it difficult to apply for any type of credit until the end of the bankruptcy as they will need to rebuild their credit rating. Hopefully, the debtor will learn a lesson from this so they do not require relief from their credit card debts in the future as bankruptcy is an option that will not always be available.