Credit cards can be a dangerous type of unsecured loan, they are fairly easy to get and sometimes have unforgiving interest rates attached to them. A lot of people overlook the pitfalls and only see the convenience and ease available to you when owning a credit card. In New Zealand this has led to a massive amount of credit card debt and a lot of people struggling to get out of it.

According to NerdWallet.com, average credit card debt in the US is $15,216! Closer to home, the total outstanding credit card balance was $5,630,000,000 as of May 2013.

Those are situations where credit card debt has become too much to handle may consider the following tips to help get themselves out of credit card debt.

The first and certainly most obvious thing to do, when trying to bring down your credit card debt, is to reduce and then cut out additional charges to the card. It seems like an utter no brainer, but it is something that people fail to do when they lack conviction to get their debt down. If you are lacking conviction in stopping spending on your card, then ask someone you know to cut up or better yet, hide your cards from you. They will still be available for an emergency, but you won’t be able to use them on a daily basis. Just remember not to take it out on your friend when you get the itch to buy something.

Transferring your existing balances to a low interest credit card can sometimes be a good idea to save money on interest. Then, you can start paying off all loans from smallest to biggest. This may seem silly, since mathematically you will save more money paying off the biggest loans first, but this tip isn’t based on maths. The psychological advantage to getting rid of loans is a great boost to your ultimate goal of being debt free.

Finally, and probably the last resort way to bring down your debt, is to look for extra employment. If you are already allocating every cent of your pay check and your debt just isn’t going away, then it might be time to look for an extra job. It isn’t ideal, especially if you have a family, but just remember that it isn’t forever, and once you are debt free, it will probably be worth it.

Having unsecured credit card debt is never a good feeling. If you feel like getting your debt down by yourself is going to be a struggle, then there are services here in New Zealand that may be able to help you. Websites like sorted.org.nz and familybudgeting.org.nz are fantastic resources for you to get yourself out from under the burden of credit card debt.