Credit card debt is the ball and chain that keeps many people from being able to achieve their financial goals. High credit card balances coupled with high interest rates make for a seemingly never-ending schedule of monthly payments that do little to decrease the amount owed and ensure that for years to come, your hard earned money will continue to pad the profits of the credit card companies instead of getting put to use making your life more enjoyable.

Lowering the interest rates on your credit cards is the key to getting out from under your credit card debt. By lowering your rates, you can significantly lower your monthly payments allowing you to pay off your credit card debt in a fraction of the time it would take even if you do not increase your monthly payment amount. This could amount to a savings of many thousands of dollars.

Below are four possible methods you may be able to use to lower your credit card interest rates.

Credit cards typically carry much higher interest rates than other types of loans. If you have equity in your home, you may be able to pay off your cards by refinancing your mortgage and including the credit card debt in the new loan. You will still have the same amount of debt, but now your credit card debt will be included in your mortgage loan, which typically has a much lower interest rate.

If you have multiple credit cards, it makes sense to move your credit card balances to cards with lower interest rates. Just be careful when doing so that you are not simply transferring your debt to avoid making payments, especially when this involves opening new credit card accounts.

The interest rates you qualify for are dependent on your credit score. By increasing your score, you may be able to get approved for lower interest rate loans and other credit accounts. This may enable you to qualify for a debt consolidation loan, a lower interest rate mortgage refinance, or even to get your current credit card providers to voluntarily lower your interest rates. Credit repair services exist to help you with this or you can work to repair your credit on your own.

If you are not able to use any of the above methods to take control of your credit cards on your own and you are facing the prospect of falling behind on your credit card payments, then you may be best served by working with a debt counseling company. They will work with your credit card providers to negotiate lower interest rates and may be able to help you avoid having to settle your debts (a process that severely damages your credit score) or declare bankruptcy.