Here are a few suggestions for paying off your credit card:
1. First, you need to figure out where you are spending your money. Write down EVERY SINGLE EXPENSE for a month and then add it up. Look for places you are spending money that are wasteful, unnecessary, etc. Where can you cut your spending? Can you turn off the lights, get rid of your cable bill (or at least get basic cable), stop paying for directory assistance, stop giving your kids rent money, etc.?
2. Look at how much you owe and what the interest rates are. Take all of your bills and write down this information: amount owed; the minimum payment due; the interest rate on the card. If the interest rate is over 15%, it's too high. Look at step three for what to do about this.
3. You want to talk to your credit-card companies about lowering your interest rates. If you go to www.oprah.com/jean, you'll find a script for how to talk to credit-card companies about lowering your interest rate. Essentially, you call the company, tell them about what a loyal customer you've been, explain that you'd like a lower interest rate, and say that you'll start taking advantage of the credit-card offers you've been receiving that have lower interest rates. If the credit-card representative says that he or she can't help you, ask to speak to the manager and repeat the story. You want them to know that they will lose your business if they don't help you out--it costs them a lot to get a new customer to replace you. And so, about half of the time, they will lower your interest rate.
4. OK. You've discovered how to stop spending so much money and you've lowered your interest rates. Now you need to start paying your bills. Start with the credit card that has the highest interest rate: that's the card you want to pay off first, as it's costing you the most money to keep it. So--pay the minimum payment on all your other cards and put any extra money towards the high interest-rate card. Keep doing this until the bill is paid off. Then move on to the next card with the second-highest interest rate. Repeat until all your cards are paid off.
5. A couple more suggestions: do NOT close your credit cards. In order to have a strong credit history and good credit score, you need to keep your accounts open. (The exception: store cards, such as Target, Macy's, Wal-Mart, etc. Not only do they have horribly high interest rates, but they hurt your credit score. Close them. And don't open new ones--who cares if you lose out on a one-day promotion that takes 10% off your purchase?) If you are worried that you'll keep spending irresponsibly, then put your credit cards in a bag full of water and put it in the freezer. That way you'll still have access to credit in an emergency, but you won't be able to impulse shop. Also, you'll want to look for ways to increase your income, if possible. (And, no, don't look for a work-from-home job--they're almost all scams.) Also, avoid the temptation to borrow money from your home (such as home equity line of credit, etc.), as most people who borrow from their homes to pay off credit cards end up back in debt within a few years, PLUS they now owe more money on their homes. So, use your equity ONLY as a last resort--otherwise you're setting yourself up for financial ruin.