If you are like most Americans, you have more than one credit card and you carry a balance on all of them. You continue to pay the minimum amount required while at the same time continuing to charge more on the cards. And the debt grows and continues. Sometimes it seems like this is a never-ending cycle, and you feel that you’ll never get them paid off.

There is a light at the end of the debt tunnel, however. By applying some simple principles, you can begin to pay off those cards and eventually become debt free.

Steps to get out of debt
First, you must create a budget. Carefully track your spending and look for areas where you can cut back to create some margin in your finances. Put any extra money you can into a savings account for emergencies. The recommended amount is to have $1000 in your savings account for unexpected expenses, such as car repairs or replacing a home appliance.

Next, you must commit to stop creating any more new debt. Once you have your emergency fund, you can stop relying on credit cards for emergencies.

You must also avoid impulse buying. Create a “want to buy” list and put only one item on the list at a time. Begin saving for the item, and comparison shop to find the best price.

Finally, begin applying the “rollover method” to your current credit cards.

1. Make a list of the balance owed on each credit card.
2. List the cards in order by highest interest rate to lowest interest rate. Be sure to include any expiration dates on introductory rate offers (such as 0% interest for 6 months).  
3. Apply any extra money available to the card with the highest interest rate.
4. Once that debt is paid off, apply the money that was going to that credit card to the card with the next highest rate.
5. Continue rolling over the extra money to the cards with the next highest interest rate and so on until all the debts are paid.

Other ways to pay
There are other ways to pay off your debt quicker. If you can afford to make the minimum payments on your credit cards this month, then you can afford to pay that same amount every month from now on until the debt is paid—as opposed to the continually decreasing amount that will be required in future months.

For each of your credit cards, instead of sending in the minimum required payments each month, commit yourself to always sending in at least as much as you’re required to send in right now. As each card gets paid off, transfer that payment money to the highest-interest debt you still have. You will save even more if you can consolidate your debts onto a lower-cost card.

The main point is to take control over your credit card debt and your spending habits. It is fine to have a credit card to use for certain things, such as purchasing online or making hotel reservations, but if you cannot pay the balance in full each month, you should cut up the card and no longer use it.

Conclusion
Make a commitment to pay off your credit card debt. Create a budget and look for ways to cut back on spending in other areas so that you can free up extra funds to apply towards paying off the debts. Fund your emergency savings so that when unexpected expenses arise, you will not have to rely on credit cards. You can break the debt cycle once and for all.