 TITLE: What Is Credit Card Debt Counseling? CONTENT: Alternatives to Credit Card Debt Counseling\n-------------------------------------------\nCredit counseling is not for everyone. If you feel you can manage your credit card debt on your own—there are plenty of things you can do to take action now. Getting out of debt won't be easy, but if you develop a good plan and stick to it, you could start to see things improve in a matter of months.\nHere are a few strategies to consider as you work toward getting out of credit card debt:\n*   **Research debt repayment strategies.** When attacking a large amount of debt, your strategy will make a difference. With the _debt avalanche_ method, you'll make the minimum payments on all your cards, but put extra toward the credit card with the highest interest rate first. Once that card is paid off, apply the same strategy to the card with the next-highest rate until all your cards are paid off. With the _debt snowball_ approach, you'll pay extra toward the account with the smallest balance first, and then apply that extra payment amount to the card with the next-smallest balance until all your accounts are paid off. Typically, you'll pay less in interest using debt avalanche, but you'll realize quicker wins (paid-off accounts) with debt snowball.\n*   **Consider a debt consolidation loan.** One way to ease the process of paying down debt is by consolidating all or some of your balances into one larger loan. Doing this can save you money on interest and can help simplify the repayment process.\n*   **Hold yourself accountable.** The most important part of any debt repayment strategy is sticking to it. Once you start, do everything you can to continue your repayment as planned. It's easy to get off track, but sticking with your plan will help you get out of debt within the time you set out.\nAs you work to pay down your debt—whether you're doing it on your own or with a credit counselor—regularly checking your credit reports and scores can help keep you on track. Experian credit monitoring can also help you track your progress, and provides alerts when there are any changes to your credit report. END