Do you ever feel a little overwhelmed by credit card debt? Do you manage to make your minimum monthly payments, but you never seem to be able to make a real dent in the amount you owe? Or do you even struggle to make those minimum payments?

Credit card debt isn’t fun, but you can survive it. Better yet, you can overcome it. You can’t rely on a sudden windfall to give you money to pay off your debts, but you can tackle them with good old fashioned hard work and perseverance. Here’s a simple three-step plan that might help you turn your relationship with credit card debt around.

1. Evaluate.

You can’t really work on getting out of debt unless you know about the kind of debt you’re in. Take some time to go over your financials. Figure out how much you owe. Take note of how much interest you’re paying on different portions of your debt. Look at the family budget.

See if there are ways you can adjust your budget or your payment habits (like paying more on higher interest credit cards and less on others). Cutting out a few luxuries each month might be enough to get you out of debt faster, or tweaking your payment priorities might help you minimise how much interest you pay.

2. Negotiate.

If budget and payment adjustments just aren’t enough, it’s time to call your credit card companies. Remember, it’s in their interest to have you pay your bills, and if it means keeping you as a customer they might be willing to work with you.

Try to negotiate a new payment due date if too many things come due at the same time. Or try to get your interest rate lowered to something more competitive with similar cards on the market. You might be able to get an annual fee or other fee waived, or even get an extension without a late fee if you know in advance you’ll need a little more time to pay your bill.

3. Consolidate.

If your credit card companies won’t negotiate with you, there’s still another option to get more agreeable terms for your credit card debt. Consider consolidating. That means lumping your smaller debts into one large one with a single monthly payment that might be less than the total you’re paying now with everything fragmented.

One way to consolidate credit card debt is to use a balance transfer card like the Bankwest Zero Platinum credit card. Balance transfer cards generally let you move a balance from one or more cards to your new credit card. Then they offer a balance transfer rate (usually for several months to a year) that’s significantly lower than your current interest rates. That gives you a while to work on paying down the principal balance while cutting down the amount of each payment going towards accrued interest.

Don’t let credit card debt wear you down. There are steps you can take to be more aggressive about paying it off. You aren’t necessarily stuck with your existing credit card terms either. Find a way to take control of the situation, and you’ll be out of debt before you know it.