Remember the words of the old song...'we had joy we had fun'? That’s probably how you felt when you first bought things on your card without paying cash. But that high comes down pretty fast when the monthly statement comes in. Paying off the dues is hard. It's time to put a few action triggers in place so bill time doesn't have to be distress time.

Paying the minimum due every month does not change the balance any which way. The reason for this is something that credit card companies hope that you will not figure out for quite a while so things work in their favor. The minimum amount you pay is only the interest on the outstanding dues. So your balance due to them is still the same while they benefit by getting interest from you each month. Carry on in this vein and your debt keeps mounting with each purchase, not coming down.

So now, what does one do? One way would be to pay more than the minimum amount due. That would make some dent in your principle amount. Next, stop using the card until the outstanding balance has reached zero because any purchase over and above that will only attract more interest. So say ‘No’ to more credit card purchases unless it’s an emergency.

Another option would be to transfer your dues to a card which offers you a grace period that's interest free and has a lower rate of interest. Get a new card to offset your old but don’t charge anything on the new card or you will start the same cycle on the second card and you will have another debt trap closing in around you.

Credit cards come with payment agreements. The most popular is that of a revolving agreement where you make some payment towards the outstanding due and they charge interest on the balance. Another is the charge agreement where you have to pay the balance in full every month. The third is the installment agreement where you pay a fixed amount each month. Select one which suits you the best and keep at it lest your credit rating goes down and you find yourself ineligible to get another credit card.

Remember to use credit cards responsibly to avoid problems with your credit which in turn can result in complications in many aspects of your life.