Question: How Can I Lower My Credit Card Debt?

Because you're dealing with department store credit, your biggest problem is likely the excessive interest charges on the balances you've accrued. Charging rates as high as 30%, store credit cards can be a consumers worst nightmare.

Assuming you've ruled out debt settlement as an option because of the credit concerns, the only real remedy is to get your debt carried at lower interest rates. Fortunately, it sounds as if you have kept up to date with your payments and have maintained good credit, so there are a few ways to go about it.

• Consolidate your credit card debt.
  A debt consolidation loan would allow you to turn those 18% to 30% interest rates into one loan at a much more reasonable rate. Your credit score and other factors will determine the exact figures lenders will offer, but expect close to the 10-12% interest range, lower still if you have security such as a home to use as collateral.
• Call them up and ask for a lower interest rate.
  Yes, you really can just call up your credit card company and ask for them to lower your interest rate. That doesn't mean they'll do it necessarily, but if you're carrying a large balance at a large interest rate, it's not uncommon for them to knock off a few percentage points.

  If your creditors aren't co-operating, don't be afraid to mention you're in the process of paying off your credit cards debts and are getting rid of the worst-interest offenders first; they'd rather have you paying some interest than none.

• Balance transfers.
  If you don't have a huge amount of credit card debt, but what you do have is at high interest rates, you might consider finding a new card that offers "balance transfers" at a good interest rate. Just be sure to read the fine print and check the regular rates as well, most balance transfers will offer the lower rate for only a set amount of time.