Credit cards the plastic money of today-whether a boon or a bane-has become a highly controversial and debatable question. The ease of operation, flexibility and convenience that it offers is tremendous and incomparable It has come about to be a means of buying time in making payment for the articles that we have purchased .It offers us the advantage of postponing our expenditures (the actual payment of cash) to a future date while actually being able to enjoy the goods today. Looking at the advantages that it offers credit cards are definitely a boon and is here to stay.

Probably the stigma attached to credit cards-as being an important cause of landing into a financial crisis-is due to the impulsive and irrational use to which we put it. Our uncontrolled use of credit cards and going overboard during the frequent shopping sprees is the reason for the terrible financial situation and credit cards should not be blamed for it. In order to make a fashion or style statement in society we go all out buying things (with the very convenient to use credit cards) little realizing that not all this can be afforded in our income and thus ruining our budgets beyond repair. We fail to remember that credit card offers us only a temporary credit and we have to pay for all this in a few days time. We end up spending more that the income we earn and end up in a difficult financial situation which would soon take away all our mental peace and happiness and put us in an embarrassing situation in front of others. The so called disadvantages or problems associated with credit cards is caused only due to lack of self control on the part of the user.

But once in a difficult credit card debt situation the only savior ready with a helping hand is a credit card debt consolidation program. There are several such programs available and therefore one should go in for a scheme only after a thorough market research . A scheme that suits your requirements and is tailor made for you would be the ideal to get you out of the debt crisis. They all sound very attractive at the beginning but should be carefully studied before committing or else you would end up in a situation that is worse-off.

A credit card debt consolidation program that offers a lower rate of interest as compared to the rate of interest of your credit cards would help in reducing your debt burden. It would be advantageous as the amounts to be repaid every month would be lower as compared to the payments to be made on your credit cards. Such programs are useful as they help in consolidating the owings into a single repayment and thus getting rid of a lot of unnecessary paperwork as well as saving you the trauma of having to answer a whole lot of creditors.

Before committing and entering into any particular credit card debt consolidation program the following points must be considered:

1)The history and credentials of the company offering the program must be thoroughly checked.

2) The rate of interest and the period for which the loan is extended is an important consideration while selecting a particular program.

3)Other clauses specified in the contract must be carefully read before entering into a contract so as to make sure that there are no further hidden costs and terms that you are unaware of.

The credit card debt consolidation program would save you from the embarrassment of non-payment of dues and the mental trauma of having a number of creditors coming knocking at your door. It would also reduce the debt burden as most of the debt consolidation programs offer a comparatively lower rate of interest as compared to the rate of interest charged by the credit cards. It also saves you from the trouble of having to maintain a long list of repayments every month as all the owings are consolidated into one single loan that is tailor made to suit your needs.

Merely entering into a credit card debt consolidation program is not the answer to all your problems. Self restraint and control over your expenditures is an equally important step in getting out of the debt crisis. Controlled spending is very important and the habits of getting tempted by all offers of sale and getting attracted to discount offers (thus ending up spending more than intended) would have to be curtailed. Only if we make a deliberate effort to reduce the expenditures it is possible to make a difference in the financial situation. All unnecessary expenditures must be avoided and only absolutely essential expenditures must be incurred. If an absolutely uncontrolled manner of spending is continued like before no debt consolidation program would be able to save you and you would soon end up in the same situation of a high and unmanageable credit card owings situation .

Thus, a credit card consolidation is the only answer to rescue you from the clutches of the terrible debt crisis that you have landed in. A controlled and cautious approach on your side curtailing all unnecessary expenditures is equally important to make the credit card debt consolidation program a success and thus get out of the debt crisis. Lots of self-control and a positive contribution is required to get out of the tight hold of the credit card debt situation.