What's the best way to pay off close to $5K in credit-card debt?

Okay, this is what I did. 1. You always want to make sure you pay MORE than the minimum amount. If you only pay the minimum amount, it can take you over 8 years to pay it off. NOT GOOD! 2. Try to find a credit card that offers 0% interest for 'x' amount of months. There are a lot of companies that are offering 0% interest for 12 - 14 months on BALANCE TRANSFERS and new purchases (check your mailbox!). If you're accepted, transfer the WHOLE balance to the new credit card with 0% interest. By transfering the balance to the 0% credit card, you're saving yourself at least $25-$40/month that you can then use to help pay off the balance. Keep in mind, the companies are a little stringent about keeping payments on time. If you miss one payment (even if you're only a day late), they have every right to cancel the introductory offer and start charging a ridiculously high interest rate, etc... Keep a close eye on your payments and make sure you're on time, every time!!! If after the introductory period you still have a balance, look for another card that is offering the same thing and transfer anything you have left to the new card. I did this for 2 years and paid everything off...INTEREST FREE! 3. Pay your bill twice a month!! It messes up their daily balance calculations for interest. I can't really tell you how it works...I got the advice from a friend at work (this also helps you get into the habit of paying the bill and if you time it right to go along with the billing cycle, you shouldn't have to worry about missing any payments and risk losing your introductory rate). I tried it and saw that I was paying a few dollars less each month in interest. Every little bit helps, right?? 4. Revisit your budget and squeeze out as much money as you can. I found out (by rebudgeting) that I was spending way too much money on phone services, insurance payments, credit card interest, etc... If you're paying high interest on credit cards (and you can't get a 0% interest card right away), call the credit card company to see what they can do to help you out...as far as lowering the interest rate. This works really well if you have good standing with the company and have been with them for over a year. Most of the time you can get them to drop the rate by 10 - 15%!!! I also called around to different car insurance companies to see who offered the best rates. I saved $20/month by switching to a different company. I also saved $25 by combining services like phone/cable/high-speed internet with one company instead of having 2 or 3 different companies for those services. Look for opportunities such as this with everything you have/do. All in all, when I did this I got nearly $90 a month back into my pockets that I then sent in to my credit card companies every month. 5. Once you pay everything off, cancel all of your credit cards except for one. Cut them up and throw them away. For the remaining credit card, call the company and have them lower your available credit to something a little more managable (I set mine for $3k). I then put the credit card away so that I wouldn't be tempted to use it every time I went shopping!!! Good luck!!

Transfer it to a 0% credit card and try and get it paid off before interest start accruing. Or you can get a personal loan and pay that off. Make sure that you have enough in savings to avoid adding to your CC debt. Have the bank automatically deposit $25 (at least) into your savings account to keep it going.

Is your credit good enough to get a low-interest credit card ? Sometimes, they come with 6-months free of interests charge. It helps, since 6 months of fees may worth 500 $ (20% int. Credit Card) : http://index-go.com/credit-with-cards-low-interest.asp or http://index-go.com/credit-cards-with-good-rewards.asp Even if you keep your actual card, you may take it as your main challenge in 2007. Considering your income and expenses, you should be able to pay back 350$/month, wich is good, since it pays back your debt in 17 months. - Make a budget and follow it. - As soon as you have an over at the end of a month, put some money in a savings account. Having some money on the side prevents you from borrowing money - and paying some fees. - Target a long-term target.

Debt consolidation. I had the same problem and I used in charge debt solutions. www.incharge.org

Use your tax refunds, that should help. Pay off one debt at a time. Cut back on things like eating out frequently and excessive entertainment expenses. Resist impulsive spending. Don't be a status chaser, liking buying a Hummer or 52" plasma T.V., things you buy just to show off to other people...

save it up and cash it out

****************************************… First you have to stop using them. Without that step, no legal plan people post here will help you. If this will be a problem, take your card and put it in a bowl of water and put them in the freezer. This way, they are still there to thaw in an emergency, but are a frozen cardcicle and aren't readily available for spontaneous purchases. Second, call the card company and ask for a lower interest rate. If you have been current on your payments, they should decrease the rate without any problem. This alone will save you a little money if you did nothing else. Third, you have to pay more than minimum balance on your statements each month or you will get nowhere. Fourth, find creative ways to pay more toward the balance as often as you can. Some examples might be: 1) Start putting your change out of your pocket into a jar at night before bed. At the end of the month, deposit the change into your bank account and write a check for the amount you deposited. 2) Arrange for larger payments to be made automatically from your bank account. This can be done on-line or by calling them and setting them up. 3) Set up your bank accounts so that a certain amount gets pulled from your primary account and goes into a savings account. At a decided time, pay that amount to the credit card. 4) Have a garage sale and use the proceeds to go toward your card balance. Time is your best ally in the battle of debt. But changing spending habits are a must to get ahead. Start using cash for purchases. Leave the cards at home. If you simply must have one with you, get a Visa check card through your bank. This takes money straight from your account. So when the money is gone, the charging stops. Talk with your bank to find out what options they have for monitoring your account. Good Luck. **************************************…

Heres the thing: AS MUCH AS YOU TRY...YOU DON'T MAKE ENOUGH $$$ TO AFFORD TO SPEND THAT MUCH... do you really need tv or internet until you start making more money??? What about a phone? Get a pay-as-you-go phone, they save $$ the only way to pay that off is to spend less.

I would just concentrate on that one debt for a while. It helps me to save like I would if it was for a vacation or something like that.