Credit card debt relief can be achieved through a variety of ways. Typically this would be debt consolidation, credit counseling, debt settlement and bankruptcy. For those of you who are looking for help with their finances, this article was written with you in mind. The only credit consolidation options we will be discussing here are the first 3, as we really believe the fourth (bankruptcy) should only be used when all else fails.

When people first ask me about credit card debt relief, usually the first thing that pops into my mind is debt settlement. This process consists of negotiating with ones creditors in order to have the principal of their balance reduced to a more manageable amount. Just imagine how much money a person would not only save, but how much faster they can begin living a debt free life. When comparing the many benefits this credit consolidation method has as opposed to the few drawbacks, it's not hard to see why this is still a favorite amongst the many consumers who have tried it.

A person can also find credit card debt relief through debt consolidation. This will be done by receiving a loan, usually through a bank or credit union, and then applying that money to your credit card debt which will naturally be charging you higher interest rates. To keep this as basic as possible let me just say this, a consumer will not only save money because of the lower rates, but they would also become debt free quicker as well. Due to the fact that banks are not as willing as they once were to lend money for this purpose, this type of credit consolidation is not as popular as in previous years.

Another way consumers are getting credit card debt relief is through the use of credit counseling services and programs. Debt management (as its also referred as) will not only help a consumer get their interest rates lowered, but a person will also get out of debt in a much shorter period as well. By their own regulations, a person will be debt free in about 60 months tops. This type of credit consolidation will most likely always be a favorite amongst consumers for many reasons.

As far as bankruptcy goes, we will not go into the details of that here as a method for credit card debt relief simply because we still believe these other methods should be used before a consumer should ever consider this as a viable option for them. We did our best to keep everything as basic as possible here. There are way to many advantages and benefits from using these programs for us to even try and list them all right here while attempting to keep this as short as we possibly can. Its not all peaches and cream though, there are some disadvantages as well. If everyone would just do a little research with all of the current programs available, success could be right around the corner. If you find yourself struggling every month just to make ends meet, why not look into these credit consolidation methods and see if one of them might just be right for your situation.