Even the most disciplined among us may have personal experience with how the slightest credit card lapse can lead to debt that rapidly accrues and takes far longer to pay off. Most credit card users are keenly aware of the optimal way to use their cards, yet emergencies and other circumstances sometimes force even the most intelligent cardholders to rack up what quickly becomes unmanageable debt. Though it may seem daunting to pay off this debt, there are several strategies available to those whose debt has accumulated quicker than they realized and are having trouble just keeping pace with the interest.

Shrewd individuals such as Ken Fisher are probably well aware of these strategies for managing and eliminating debt, just as they are quite likely to understand how to utilize their cards to yield all kinds of valuable benefits. For those who are contending with high interest rates and are only paying the minimum balance each month, it is important to recognize that this approach is very unlikely to lead to debt elimination in the near future, particularly if the interest rate is fairly high.

In these situations, taking advantage of a promotional balance transfer can be quite ideal. It is often the case that another card will offer zero interest for 12 or 18 months on any balance transferred from the original card. When using this tactic, it is important to calculate the monthly payment needed to pay the balance in full before the promotional interest rate expires. If the balance is not paid by this time, the interest rate may be applied to the original balance and negate the efficacy of this strategy altogether. Once the card has been paid off in its entirety, the card should be used sparingly and the complete balance paid off in full at the end of each month.