Credit card offers can be very tempting, and we certainly get enough of them in the mail everyday. Even people with poor credit scores are inundated with these “pre-approved” offers.

You did not heed their warning. You tore that envelope open “just to educate yourself” if you “one day” decided to get a credit card. This is the worm on the end of the hook.

You saw the leaflet with the 0% APR for the first 12 months and no annual fee, and as you looked deeper, you found that you could personalize your card with Mickey Mouse or dolphins!

You eagerly signed your name at the end of the application and threw caution to the wind. You figured, what is the harm in trying?

While you wait for your card to arrive, you fortify your intention of using it only when absolutely necessary. You won’t borrow money to pay for extraneous and unneeded items.

Maybe you forgot about the personalization, the colors, and the dolphins, until one day it arrives: your credit card, your instant money.

Once you diligently read the terms, you get right on the phone and activate it. This is a great step towards financial responsibility.

Now that you have the credit card in hand, ready to go, your mind drifts to what you can buy with it. You’ll definitely pay the balance in full each month, so a few little purchases won’t hurt. And isn’t it better to use it and pay it off than to let it gather dust in your wallet? A few small, inexpensive items, and then only for emergencies.

A few small purchases add up, and when you get your first bill, you are astounded by the accumulation. You can’t pay the entire balance, even though it’s payday.

So you change your plan. You’ll pay the minimum balance this month, and really start using the card only for emergencies. But you continue spending. The next month, you can’t pay more than the minimum once again.

It is easy to spend, but not so easy to pay. Soon, your card has neared or reached its limit. The solution? Another credit card, of course. You start using that one, maybe with the same good intentions of using it for emergencies only. Soon, you are making minimum payments on two cards, and your debt is getting out of control.

You buy more and pay the minimum on three cards. Before you know it, those precious twelve months are up, and you are buried in 23.6% APR rates and late fees. Your couple of hundred or thousand dollars owed has now tripled, and it is still skyrocketing!

As you continue this cycle, your credit report feels the consequences.

You make plans to pay off the entire balance with tax refunds or bonuses. But these get sucked up in everyday purchases, and still your debt grows.

The car payment is due, the mortgage is due, and you need a new water heater. The cards remain unpaid and your mailbox is as full as your missed and avoided call list. You have lost control.

The only way to help yourself is to radically change your spending habits. Cancel the cards, even if you still have room to spend. If you absolutely need one, do not carry it in your wallet. Better yet, get a debit card, which gives you the freedom and convenience of the credit card without the high risk.

If this is too much severing of ties, keep one card and pay it off first. This will be an emergency card for bills that need to be paid. In fact, defining what constitutes an emergency prior to using it will help prevent miscellaneous spending.

While your first instinct is to ignore creditors, you need to speak with them. They want their money and would rather take something than nothing. They will most often agree to negotiate lower rates or a reduced balance in exchange for some type of debt repayment plan.

Work out a payment plan with them that you absolutely know you can pay. Realism is the foundation here.

You also need to be honest with yourself. The truth is that the credit card company isn’t the bad guy. You borrowed the money, knowing that you were under obligation to pay it back. It is time to live up to your end of the deal.

Time allowed this debt to get out of hand, and time is required to get it back in control. This problem will not dissipate overnight.

This can be frustrating as you pay and see no immediate effects. But as you continue your efforts, you will see both your debt load decreasing and your credit score increasing. In a year, you could significantly decrease the amount you owe, or you could let it continue to grow exponentially. The choice is yours.

Credit repair is real. It just takes a strong sense of reality, responsibility and understanding of how the problem came to be. Learn how to fix your life by restoring your credit rating.

Related Posts:

• Is It Too Late for Credit Repair?
• Credit Repair: Pull Out of Your Downward Trend
• Credit Repair Help: What You Need To Dispute A Negative Entry
• Need Fast Credit Repair? Look No Further
• Repairing Bad Credit