How can I get help with my credit card debt?

my husband and I have become 42,000 in credit card debt. I've been late or overdrawn on two of the cards. Now our interest rate has gone from 3.99% to 29.99%. Is there anything we can do to reduce this rate?

How can I get help with my credit card debt?
Pay them early and extra every month. After a few months of early payments, call them and negotiate a better rate.





While you're doing this, work your hardest to stretch every single dollar. Write a budget and spend as little as necessary. To get out of debt, many financial advisors recommend something often referred to as the "debt snowball."





The basic steps in the debt snowball method are as follows:


1. List all debts in ascending order from smallest balance to largest. This is the method's most distinctive feature, in that the order is determined by amount owed, not the rate of interest charged. However, if two debts are very close in amount owed, then the debt with the higher interest rate would be moved above in the list.


2. Commit to pay the minimum payment on every debt.


3. Determine how much extra can be applied towards the smallest debt.


4. Pay the minimum payment plus the extra amount towards that smallest debt until it is paid off.


5. Then, add the old minimum payment from the first debt to the extra amount, and apply the new sum to the second smallest debt.


6. Repeat until all debts are paid in full.
Reply:The same thing happened to me and I checked out what to tell these companies. (It worked and they were amazed that I knew my rights). If you have not charged anything on this card yet, and this increase in you APR just occured in this billing cycle, you will tell them you don't agree with the new APR percentage rate and you refuse to accept the new terms given to you. You in turn will have to stop using this card and when it comes time to renew this credit card, the credit company will be closing out this account. Of course you will still owe what you owe, but at your original rate. This is the only way to win against these all for profit idiots. Good Luck.
Reply:Credit card debt consolidation adds up all your unpaid balances and converts them into a single payment. This payment is far lesser than each of the individual payments. When you finalize a plan with a debt consolidation company, the company repays your dues to your creditors. Then you make a single payment to the consolidation company every month. Your average new interest rate is much below the old interest rate.