Are you always told that paying off credit card debts is easy? Let me, a working mom who is deeply in debts, tell you that it’s a lie. It is difficult, especially if you are a working mom loaded with staggering $20,321 credit card debts and your income is less than $1,000 per month.

I first realized that my credit card debts had snowballed to $20,321 last April. I was as shocked and frightened as most people were when they found out they were deeply in debts. Like them, I kept asking myself, “How could it be?”, “How could my debts be more than $20,321?” I myself could not believe my debts had accumulated to more than $20,321.

It took me almost a week to finally want to accept the fact. What made me accept the hard fact was checking 5 signs if I was in deep debt trouble. Have a check if you are already in deep debt trouble:

1. Paying off your card balance in three months when it used to take one month.

2. Not knowing how much you owe until your card bills arrive.

3. Maxing out your credit cards regularly.

4. Paying bills with card cash advances.

5. Paying off one credit card bill with another credit card.

I was truly in deep debt trouble as I had all the 5 signs mentioned above. Feeling dejectedly, I spread out all my card statements and added up the outstanding balance one by one. Gosh! What a staggering amount of credit card debts- $20,321! My bank overdraft, home mortgage and car loan were not even included.

I think one thing working moms have in common is that we will do whatever we can with whatever we still have to fight back. We will not sit there waiting to be defeated. Having made up my mind to pay off my hefty debts, I started my debt reduction with debt elimination tips and methods found online, from personal finance books and magazines.

Here are a few debt reduction tips I have been using to pay off my credit card debts from $20,321 to $13,942 in a year.

1. Destroy Credit Cards. I cut up more than 5 cards and kept only 2 with lower interest rate. Destroying credit cards is the very first step to debt reduction. This is to ensure that I am not creating anymore extra debts.

2. Reduce Spending and Expenses. To pay off my staggering debts faster, it’s necessary to change my spending habits. At first, I thought it would be difficult to change my spending habits. Well, it’s not. I stop buying certain unnecessary things and always plan the purchases before I shop. Making a list of things I need and sticking to it helps me in reducing my expenses easily!

3. Negotiate with the Credit Card Companies. I told the credit card companies that I was unable to pay the outstanding balances, and if they wanted their money back they would have to lower the interest rates. Due to my negotiation with the credit card lenders, some reduced the interest rates by half while some dropped my interest rates from 18% to 12%.

You see, every credit card company will sacrifice something to get their outstanding back if you approach them in earnest. Nine times out of ten they will plan a good repayment deal for you.

4. Pay More Than the Minimum Payment. If you can pay off double your minimum payment , your balance on that card will disappear within a couple of months. As for me, I can only pay a bit more than the minimum amount due.

I am using the Debt-Snowball Method taught by Dave Ramsey. I have found it very effective and managed to pay off the first credit card debt.

Let me share with you how to do. You see, the first credit card debt on your list is your snowball target. Every single other card debt on the list gets the minimum monthly payment for now.

The debt on the top of the list gets its minimum payment plus every spare cent you can throw at it. Pay it off as fast as you can. When the first credit card debt is gone, the second credit card debt is getting its own minimum payment, the minimum payment of the first card debt, and every spare cent you can gather towards it.

With $13,942 credit card debts I still have, it’s a long journey to becoming debt free. But with discipline, determination and persistence I believe I can enjoy debt free living in 3 to 5 years.