If you’re in credit card debt, it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Cast aside your fears and don’t dwell on the past and how you got into debt in the first place.

Here are three tips to become debt free.

• First figure out how much debt you have. It sounds simple, but you may have debt on many different credit card. You can’t begin to get out of debt unless you know how much debt you have.
• Pay more than the minimum payment. If you are only paying the minimum payment – which is typically a small fraction of your total balance – you’re going to be in debt for a very, very long time. Even if you can only afford to pay $20 more than the minimum, that will still help you make a bigger dent than simply paying the minimum payment. Plus, any extra money you come across – throw it towards your debt. You need to attack your credit card debt head first!
• Get a lower interest rate. One of the reasons people stay in debt for so long is because their interest rate is so high. Try calling up the credit card company and asking for a lower interest rate. Even if they lower it by five percentage points, that will lower the cost of your debt and thus you’ll be out of debt faster. You have nothing to lose by negotiating