Consumer debt is at its all-time high. There is an increasingly serious problem of people relying too heavily on their credit cards to purchase things that they really cannot afford. Some people forget that having a credit limit does not mean that they have that much money to spend.

The rule of thumb is that if you do not have the money to pay off your credit card bills at the end of the month, do not use it for your purchases. If you feel like your credit card debt is getting out of control and you want to gain back control, this article can help you go back on track.

If you have a lot of credit cards, make a decision now to only keep one. You should not have any store cards at all because those carry an extremely high interest rate and are only good at that particular store. You only need to keep one or two major credit cards that are widely accepted.

Pay off your store cards as soon as you can, and cancel the account. Holding multiple credit cards gives you the false idea that you have high purchasing power. The fact is, if you cannot pay your bills in full at the end of the month, you cannot afford it in the first place.

Your credit line is not money in your pocket. It is just a loan, and you have to pay it back. Avoid using your credit card to buy things that you do not have the cash for. Live beneath your means. If you have a tendency to charge big-ticket purchases and not pay in full at month-end, make a point not to charge those, but to save up enough money until you can write a check for them.

If you have a hard time remembering what you spent money on, you should make a budget of your income and expenses. Write down how much money you take in every month. Then, write down categories that you spend on. Examples of these categories are food, housing, utilities, car expenses, insurance, entertainment, etc. After you have written down your categories, allocate money to each of these without going over what you take in every month.

If you find that your expenses are more that your income, you will have to adjust your allocation to bring down the total amount. You have fixed costs every month, like your housing and insurance. However, you can target categories that are non-essential, like entertainment or clothing, and reduce the allocation.

If you think hard enough, you can reduce your cost in every category with a variable expense. Food cost can be reduced if you eat out less and cook your own food more. Pack a sandwich to take to work instead of eating at a restaurant. Skip the morning latte and bring your own coffee in a thermos. Every little bit of savings counts, and you will be surprised at how much you can save if you put your mind to it.

These are just a few tips on getting your finances back on track. Try these out, and you can improve your financial situation.