Does this sound familiar? You have been living the good life, buying all your favourite clothes labels, fancy gadgets and maybe even treated yourself to a super holiday? Well unless you are great at planning your finances you are probably amongst the many millions of Britains who are badly in need of credit card debt relief.

One of the main culprits that lead to debt is that little piece of plastic sitting in your purse or wallet. It just makes it so easy to make that impulse buy as you don't actually see cold hard cash changing hands so it doesn't feel so bad when you make that purchase.

So what happens when you eventually max out your credit card? Another card, and another and another. And before you know it you have 3, 4 maybe 5+ credit cards all maxed out. And nowadays with lenders keener than ever to give you more money those little pieces of plastic could leave you ?10,000's in debt.

So, what happens when you find yourself deep in credit card debt? Well you need to consider your options and believe me there is loads of help at hand.

Your options include professional debt help if your debts are over ?15,000. One of the lesser known secrets in debt help options these days is an IVA. An IVA (Individual Voluntary Agreement) is a method whereby the debt specialist will discuss all your debts with each of your lenders. From this an agreement is made as to how much of the debt you can repay and all parties concerned then sign the agreement. By choosing an IVA you could potentially end up paying as little as 25% of your original debts back to your creditors. Although this may sound like a good idea there are some drawbacks in that your credit rating will be severely affected during the debt payback period, typically 5 years, and beyond.

Another popular option is to take out a Debt Consolidation loan. One of the main benefits to Consolidation Loans is that you can pay back all your credit card debts so that you can have just a single low monthly payment to make to one company rather than to lots of credit card companies. This may sound like a good idea but lots of Consolidation Loans are secured on your property which means that if you don't keep up with payments then you could lose your home, similar to what would happen if you didn't pay your mortgage.

Whichever option you choose will be down to your exact circumstances and how much debt you have got yourself into. As a quick guide you should consider an IVA if you're over ?15,000 in debt and a Debt Consolidation Loan if your debts are less than ?15,000.

So, the secret to credit card debt relief? Taking action today to sort out your debts once and for all. All it takes is either a short phone call or fill in an online form and you could be well on your way to a debt free life in no time.