You can throw the reminders in the Cuisinart or chuck them into a garbage can, but that won't make the debt go away. Debt hovers like a carrion bird over a dying beast, with annual rates of 28% or more compounded monthly, month in and month out. So you may want to pay credit card off fast.

First, break the habit of paying only the minimum required each month. Paying the minimum -- usually 2% to 3% of the outstanding balance -- only prolongs the agony.Instead, bite the bullet and pay as much as you can each month. If your minimum payment is $100, double that to $200 or more.Make a few sacrifices, and you will find the extra dollars needed to increase your debt repayments dramatically. Those increased payments will save you hundreds, if not thousands, in interest payments.

Take a long, hard look at all your credit cards. Pay particular attention to the one with the lowest interest rate. If your entire balance is too large to fit on one low-interest card, pay at least the minimum amounts due on all of your cards except one. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Another way to transfer higher-interest debt to a lower-interest card is to take advantage of the promotional offers many banks use to entice you to their line of credit. You've seen the come-ons. Take care, though, before you act. Examine the offer closely.

You could cash out your savings and investments and use the proceeds toward debt repayment. Yeah, no one wants to do that. Do you have life insurance with a cash value? If so, borrow against the policy. Perhaps your family or friends could float you a loan. Who else knows, trusts, and loves you like they do? Do you own your own home and have equity that's accumulated through the years as you've paid off the mortgage? A HEL gives you two ways to save. First, by using the loan proceeds to pay down your debt, you trade something like an 18% loan for a 6%-7% loan.

The danger here is falling into a common trap. Many get an HEL, pay off existing debt, and then ring up the charges on the credit cards all over again. Do you participate in a 401(k) qualified retirement plan at work? Most 401(k) plans have a feature that lets you borrow up to 50% of the account's value, or $50,000, whichever is smaller. But there are drawbacks. First, the loan and interest will be repaid with after-tax dollars, but the interest will be taxed again when you withdraw money from the 401(k) years later. OK, you've done all you can. Savings are gone; relatives have been tapped out; you don't have a home or 401(k) to borrow against.

Let your creditors know your situation. Tell them that if you are unable to renegotiate terms, you'll have no other recourse but to declare bankruptcy. Indeed, many will negotiate away the farm before they'll write off your debt. As lawyers love to say, everything is negotiable. What if you decide you can't pay down your debt using any of the methods listed above? What should you do? Your credit record will contain this information for 10 years, thus ensuring you will have a tough time obtaining credit you can afford during that period. Additionally, as odd as it seems, it costs money to file for bankruptcy and pay credit card off.

There are two types of personal bankruptcy relief: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. While Chapter 7 relieves you of the responsibility of repaying most creditors, you may have to surrender much of your property to help satisfy the debt. However, different states have different laws that grant you exemptions on certain types of property, such as a certain amount of equity in your home, a low-value vehicle, small amounts of jewelry and other personal property, and tools you use in your trade or business. Chapter 13, sometimes called the "wage-earner plan," is different. You keep your property but surrender control of your finances to the bankruptcy court. Remember bankruptcy is always a last resort and if you get help you should be able to be better off in less than a year.