Credit Card Debt/Problems paying bills

[Stormieweather]

1) Get rid of the cards. If a $300 min is rough, a $400 one will be impossible. Don't just promise yourself not to use them, cut them up and throw them away.

2) Make a budget. Be honest and realistic about what you spend your money on. How much goes for lunches out, magazines, impulse buys, drinks with friends, luxury items like fancy shampoo's, high end hosiery, Starbucks coffee, etc? What can you do without? Give yourself an allowance and stick to it. Figure out how much you can manage to pay towards the credit cards - over the min - per month.

3) Start a tiny savings account. Even $10 a paycheck adds up in the long run. $10 could by your weekly lunch with co-workers...but add it up and you have $40 a month or $480 a year...which is your cushion instead of the credit cards.

4) Find a credit counselor who can help you consolidate the bills and get a payment plan worked out. But this won't help if you don't make lifestyle changes to prevent it from happening again.

Good luck...!