If you’re reading this, chances are your monthly credit card bills are putting a serious dent in you and your family’s lifestyle. Even if you’re making the minimum payments (something that I don’t recommend, by the way), and you find that there’s way more month than money, you still may have a few tricks up your sleeve to help your situation.

By help, I mean you’ve got legal and ethical options to lower your debt amount, lower your monthly payments, or both! Plus, you can help yourself and keep a good credit rating (or even improve it) when you negotiate credit card debt!

1. Find a credit card with a lower interest rate on the balance you hold. One of the oldest tricks in the book – and still very effective. An easy, no-sweat way to save literally thousands of dollars every year. If your income and credit ratings are still good, start your research now into cards with low rates. Sometimes, credit cards will have a “teaser” or introductory interest rate that can be absurdly low – but only for 3 – 6 months. Then it ratchets up, maybe even higher than you’ve got now. It’s worth the trouble, but you have to have another low-rate card lined up when the current low rate expires. Then you repeat the whole game over again – would you do this a couple of times a year to save thousands? I would.

2. Negotiate your credit card debt with your current credit card companies. This is another very effective way to save thousands each year – and surprisingly few people take advantage of this option (or even know it’s available). It works like this – simply find a new credit card with a rate much less than you’re paying now. Call customer service at your present credit card company (or companies), the phone number is on the back of the card. Tell the CS representative that you have found a much cheaper card, and that you’re considering moving your balance. Then, ask if they could match the new rate – and you wouldn’t move away if they can help you. If they can do it – great, most times you’ll get a positive answer. If not, see #1 (above).

3. Take out a personal loan at your local bank or credit union. If your credit is still ok, and you still have a job, then this could be a great option for you. Use a personal, unsecured loan to pay off those high interest credit cards and, once again, save thousands a year. Of course, the interest rate on the personal loan will be high, but probably quite a bit lower that the rate(s) on your credit cards.

These are only 3 of the many ways you can save money by negotiating your credit card debt. One thing that you really need to do is change the lifestyle and choices that got you into trouble in the first place. Get rid of most of your credit cards. Live on only the money you bring in each month. And, make extra payments on your debt – so you won’t be paying interest all your life!

Depending on how you use them, credit cards can be a great resource, or a real curse. Use them cautiously, pay the balance in full each month, and credit cards can be an enormous convenience. Use your credit cards recklessly, build ever-increasing amounts of high-interest credit card debt over time, and credit cards can ruin your life.

If you, as many others today, find that your credit card debt is eating you out of house and home, rest assured that you can reverse the vicious cycle and regain control of this debt monster. How? The answer may surprise you with its simplicity – you must eliminate your credit card debt.

Here are some proven ideas and techniques to help put you on the path to financial health. The journey may not be easy, but the destination (debt free) is grand!

• Get rid of most of your credit cards. The first step in getting yourself out of your debt hole is to stop digging. Tear up or destroy department charge cards, gasoline cards, and any other non-major credit cards. Now, take a look at the remaining cards. All you should have left are cards with names like Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express, etc. Cut up and cancel all but one of them. How to decide? Keep the one with the lowest (or no) annual fee. Make sure you have some credit limit on this card and are not behind on payments – you’ll need this one for emergencies. You’ll still have to pay the balances on these cards, but you’ll not be adding to those balances.

• Move credit card balances from high interest cards to lower interest cards. Related to the above, read the fine print on all of your statements and see if you can move some balances from high to low rates. Make sure there is no fee associated anywhere to do this. And, make sure that the one card you intend to keep has some room for purchases.

• Use the remaining credit card for emergency purchases only. Some debt experts will tell you to pay cash (checks or debit card) for all your expenses now. I would change that a little – if you can hold a budget and can be a responsible shopper, use this credit card for your core purchases. Food, auto expenses, etc. But, spend only what you can pay off in a month. If you absolutely cannot be responsible, then cash is king, as you must not raise your credit card debt level.

• Put together a budget for monthly expenses. It’s surprising how many people have no idea what their money is spent on each month. If you fall into this category, take the next 30 days and keep detailed records (and all receipts) of everything you spent money on. And, that means every pack of gum, every Starbucks and every subway fare you buy. Everything. Then, and only then will you be able to put yourself (including your family, if applicable) on a monthly budget. In case you’re a little fuzzy as to where this is going – the idea is to be able to cut expenses where possible, so that you can make extra payments on your credit card debt. You may be shocked when you find out where your money goes.

• Pay more than the minimum amounts due each month on all of the credit card balances that you can. If you’ve successfully designed a budget for household, that means you probably have a few extra bucks left over that can be applied to your debt. This is absolutely essential. Short of some very drastic measures (bankruptcy, debt negotiations, etc.) that could do some very real harm to your credit rating, paying down your debt is the best way to get control of your life. You may want to do a debt snowball, which means that you start paying down the debt with the highest interest rates first – this will save you the most money in the long run. Then, as each debt is paid off, move onto the next one. Depending on how deep you’ve dug your hole, this could be a years-long process. But, the rewards are great, and you will be left with a clean bill of financial health, and the satisfaction that you fixed the mess.

Unlike various companies and industries, people like you and I will NOT be getting any government bailout for our debts. You will have to take the challenge, grab all the shovels that you can find and start digging yourself out from credit card debt.