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Anyone who has read any newspaper articles on ‘Credit card debt’ would already know what credit card debt consolidation is. However, just for the benefit of others, credit card debt consolidation, in simple terms, is the process of consolidating debt which you hold on various high APR credit cards onto just one low APR credit card.

Thus, the main benefit of credit card debt consolidation is realized in terms of APR reduction (and hence reduction in credit card debt growth rate). This is touted as the most important benefit (and sometimes the sole benefit) from credit card debt consolidation. However, credit card debt consolidation comes with few more benefits as well. Some of these credit card debt consolidation benefits are widely publicized by the credit card suppliers and some not so much:

1. Initial APR: As mentioned above, lower APR is the biggest benefit from credit card debt consolidation. Since credit card debt consolidation is used by credit card suppliers as a tool to attract consumers, they generally offer a 0% APR for an initial period of 6-9 months of you joining their credit card debt consolidation programmed i.e. first few months after you get the new credit card.

2. Standard APR: Lower standard APR (i.e. the long term APR) is the other important benefit from credit card debt consolidation. Though not all credit card suppliers offer a lower standard APR with credit card debt consolidation some do design credit card debt consolidation programmers with good standard APR. These credit card debt consolidation programmers offer a trade-off between initial and standard APR rates.

3. 0% on purchases: This is another common benefit from credit card debt consolidation. The 0% interest (or some lower percentage) on purchases is offered as an incentive for credit card debt consolidation. This credit card debt consolidation benefit is again applicable only for a short initial period.

4. Easy management: This credit card debt consolidation benefit is not as discussed as others. However, one benefit of credit card debt consolidation (from multiple to single credit card) is the fact that you need to track and manage a lesser number of credit cards.

5. Other benefits: The credit card debt consolidation exercise might bring you some more benefits in terms of rebates, discounts and reward points (especially if you move to a co-branded card as part of credit card debt consolidation)

The first thing, really, is to keep your eyes and ears open. There are always a number of offers available for you to choose from. The credit card suppliers keep coming with new and more attractive offers asking you to consolidate credit card debt with them. However, you must note that the APR quoted in bold, e.g. 0% APR, is applicable only for a short term (3-9 months).

The long term (or the standard) APR is different. So, when you go looking for a credit card to consolidate credit card debt, you must be keenly looking for these 3 things (in terms of APR) – introductory APR, introductory APR period and the standard APR. Let’s see how each one is important.

Introductory APR is probably the most attractive thing to look for when you are looking to consolidate credit card debt. If you consolidate credit card debt to a card that has a low introductory APR e.g. 0%, the first thing you get is a breather/relief in terms of the rate at which your credit card debt has been growing.

Based on how long that 0% APR period is (generally you will look to consolidate credit card debt with a credit card supplier who offers 0% initial APR), you will at least be able to temporarily break the growth rate of your credit card debt. More the introductory period, the better it is.

However, you should not ignore the standard APR when you consolidate credit card debt. This is the interest rate that will be applied to your balance after the expiry of the introductory low APR period that was given to lure you to consolidate credit card debt with that credit card supplier.

If the standard APR is too high and you know that you will not be able to clear off the entire credit card debt during the low APR period, that credit card is probably not the best for you to consolidate credit card debt to.

However, if you think that you will be able to clear off the entire credit card debt during that period, you can make some compromises on the standard APR of the credit card to which you consolidate credit card debt.

The card that synchronizes with your current and future financial position (and needs), is the one you should consolidate credit card debt to.

There can be various reasons for going for a credit card debt settlement agency. Some people use a credit card debt settlement agency because they are not comfortable in dealing with credit card debt settlement by themselves.

Some go for a credit card debt settlement agency because they don’t have the time to do the research and evaluate options for credit card debt settlement. Others just want professional advice and hence they contact credit card debt settlement agency.

Whatever be the reason for employing a credit card debt settlement agency, a good credit card debt settlement agency would surely be of help. However, it’s important that you select a good credit card debt settlement agency. Do not fall for ads of credit card debt settlement agencies that promise to wipe off your debt overnight.

No credit card debt settlement agency or anyone else can do that. You should select a credit card debt settlement agency which has verifiable credentials or a credit card debt settlement agency that you know has a good reputation.

If some friend has been through this process previously, they might be able to recommend a credit card debt settlement agency to you. Sometimes you will find ads that promise impossible things and ask you to call a telephone number that’s a premium line. So beware, or else you might end up paying heavy phone bills that would just add to your debt.

Some credit card debt settlement agencies might be having a very low fee but no reputation. These are again the credit card debt settlement agencies that you should avoid. However, once you find a reputable credit card debt settlement agency, do not try to hide debt related information from them, no matter how bad your debt it. That is another reason for looking for a reputable credit card debt settlement agency.

If the credit card debt settlement agency is not a reputable one, you would not be able to trust them; and trust is very important here otherwise you will neither be able to tell them the full story and nor follow their advice. That said, it’s important to note that no credit card debt settlement agency will be able to help you if you are not ready to help yourself. So, follow the advice given by credit card debt settlement agency and practice good spending habits.

So when you sit down and decide that its time you took seriously the challenge of conquering your credit card debt, you have some battles to fight that are not just about interest rates and minimum payments. The truth is that none of us can face down something as overwhelming as a massive credit card debt if we just don’t think we can do it.

A person’s self confidence is rooted in the idea that he or she can and has had success at facing a challenge before. So we can take on a new challenge because you did it before and you can do it again. But when it comes to facing tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt, it’s possible you have never faced such an elusive enemy. It is an enemy that seems to want to swallow you up. And that can cause despair and make you just want to throw up your hands and give up.

So the question comes, when is the best time to panic? Well, you know the answer to that question is – NEVER! This is not just pie in the sky optimism talking here. There are some very pragmatic reasons that you should stubbornly refuse to panic no matter how bad the credit card debt threatens to get.

For one thing, if you are the responsible adult in the house whose job it is to handle the finances of the family, those people you love depend on you to guide your family out of messes. This is the job of a head of household so the last thing they want to see is for you to come unglued because of a few bills. So for the sake of the people you love, keep your head and keep looking for options and answers.

The other reason to not panic is that there is always something you can do. You can get another job or find another income source to keep paying those debts down. And as long as you can make the payments on any given month, there is hope the next month you will start to pull ahead. As long as you have your health and there are jobs to be had, you can work and get out of this mess. It might take some hard work but you can do it.

But even if you cannot work and the bills keep getting higher and higher, that is not a good reason to panic. You can renegotiate with lenders to get some control over the debt. You can use a credit consolation service to get your payments down and get on a schedule to pay them off over time. And at the very end of the spectrum of what you can do, there is bankruptcy. And as bad as that word sounds, bankruptcy is not the end of your world. Lots of people use it and come out the other side of it fine and ready to take on the world again.

So take some heart in the fact that you really are not doomed and there is always a way out of the mess you are in. It might take some looking, some creative thinking and some leadership to get there. But you can only find those resources inside yourself if you stubbornly refuse to panic.

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However, you can’t pull the shutters on the credit card industry just because of a few irresponsible people (or even if it’s more than few). That is not a solution for beating excessive credit card debt. Moreover, you can’t overlook the benefits associated with the credit cards.

The issue of excessive credit card debt can be looked at from 2 angles. First is addressing of the excessive credit card debt problem at the industry level and second is the addressing of the excessive credit card debt problem at the individual’s level i.e. at the credit card holder level. The first method involves increasing awareness of the excessive credit card debt problem to the masses. This is more or less being done currently too.

However, there should also be an effort to tackle this problem of excessive credit card debt at an even deeper level. This means trying to devise a mechanism to nip the problem (of excessive credit card debt) in the bud. This mechanism should actually be a part of the overall system. A lot of thought needs to go into devising such a mechanism. Case studies should be taken up, statistics gathered and a proper forum formed (with representatives from the credit card holders and from the credit card suppliers).

As of now, the credit card suppliers just seem to be engaged in coming out with new products and getting customers enrolled to those products. There is little attention paid towards addressing the problem of excessive credit card debt in the real sense. Something like attending mandatory seminars on the root causes of excessive credit card debt could be made part of the credit card application process.

Another way of dealing with the problem of excessive credit card debt could be: developing a system for calculation of applicable credit card limit at the individual level i.e. no standard/product-based credit limits.

Then there could be mechanisms for proactively warning the users about excessive credit card debt (based on their credit card usage) or even imposition of early restrictions on noticing the first signs that lead to excessive credit card debt at the individual’s level, the treatment of the problem of excessive credit card debt would include following of best practices (on credit card usage and avoidance of excessive credit card debt) by the individuals themselves. A checklist or a set of questions could be provided to individuals for recognising the first signs of excessive credit card debt.

So, the problem of excessive credit card debt can surely be dealt with by putting together some serious thinking at a broader level together with discipline at the individual’s level.

The is an additional overhead to how to handle a divorce situation if in addition to splitting your assets, credit card debt that may have been a part of the shared family financial picture also must be split up. To the credit card company, that family credit card is the property of that shared entity which was the marriage. So when the union splits up, the transition from a financial point of view of your accounts separating is not over night.

So one of the many issues to be discussed and a plan made for is how to separate that credit card debt. Whoever continues to hold the family accounts will continue to get those bills and be expected to pay them. Now the least preferable way to handle the debt is to build the payments into any forced settlement agreement such as child support. So at the time the divorce is final, the amount of the debt and the payments that must be made could be calculated and half of that put into the amount that the income generating partner must provide.

But that leaves the management of those credit card debts to one partner and the other one just has to pay a set amount. And if the credit cards get used by either partner, that legal amount would have to constantly be changed and that would prove to be a constant headache of administration.

If the divorce is a shared responsibility so each spouse can work with the other to adjust the financial picture in an advantageous way, then how to separate the credit card debt should be part of that planning. Part of that planning is how to use shared assets to pay down that debt. You may have a home that will be sold, retirement accounts or other assets that were set aside for the future of the marriage. Before you sell those things, close those accounts and distribute the funds, look at using the outcome to retire that shared debt.

But it’s likely some of that debt load will live on past the divorce. In those cases splitting into two individual accounts may be the way to go. In that way, if the family was carrying $10,000 in debt, if each marriage partner walks away with $5000 of the debt, that is at least fair and equitable and how each individual handles that debt is up to them.

There are two ways you can go about splitting the credit card debt. If the debt is with a carrier with whom you can negotiate and conduct a dialog, getting a meeting or having a conference call with the managers there would be productive. The credit card company would far rather negotiate with you how to handle this debt load then deal with it chaotically after the fact. So they may be willing to set up separate individual accounts and split the debt for you.

But you can always use the method many of us have used to manage credit card debt up until now. Each of you can set up some new separate credit card accounts. You no doubt have dozens of credit card offers coming in that you can use to kick off this process. Almost always part of the set up offers for these accounts are balance transfers. So if you take out individual accounts and use the balance transfers to move each partners shared part of the debt to those accounts, that would be a clean way to split the debt up.

There may be adjustments to be made to the 50-50 split idea based on who is the primary bread winner and maybe who ran up the debt and on what. But by negotiating the terms of how you are going to separate the credit card debt when you separate the marriage, that will be one more than that you are handling in a mature and responsible manner in the middle of a very tough situation.

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I’ve visited the site several times and I don’t keep going back just because they offer a free credit score report. I go back because their site is easy to use, up front about everything credit related and they have great links and advice on how to keep your credit score high and even get it higher.

Especially in rough times, the temptation to use your credit card for everything is almost unbearable. If you’ve fallen victim to your credit card, you have choices. You don’t have to miss payments, ruin your credit or go into bankruptcy.

When your credit card debt is overwhelming, the best thing you can do is seek counsel through a debt consolidation company. Debt consolidation can help you put all of your bills into one, low monthly payment, settle debts that you will not be able to repay currently or in the future and consolidate past bad debts that you can start making payments on.

But not all debt consolidation companies are created equal. One of the most trusted debt consolidation companies online, Secure Loan Consolidation will give you a free debt analysis as well as help put you in touch with the most trustworthy debt consolidation companies out there as well as settlement companies who can help you meet your goals, get out of debt and stop calls from creditors.

Secure Loan prescreens all of the companies they refer to, so you don’t have a thing to worry about. Secure Loan also helps you by offering refinancing options, so you can make payments on your home or auto loan more affordable, and they offer information on preparing and paying your taxes (whether you’re on top of it, or behind) and bankruptcy. Secure Loan makes a point of giving you all of the options you need for the most financially trying times in your life.

Debt consolidation is only one of the choices you have when your bills become too much for you to handle. But it’s one you should consider-never leave your credit and your future to the wind.