If you’re in credit card debt than escape is a must. It’s important to know the right and the wrong ways to go about doing it. Alot of the times the “quick fixes” that are offered can cause as many problems as they solve.

Below are the big four ill-advised “solutions” for getting out of credit card debt:

1. Take out a payday loan
Payday lenders are to be used for short term emergencies only. They’re never meant to be used as a long-term fix for credit card debt. Why? Their interest rates are astronomical. Sometimes the interest rate can be as highh as 100% or more of the amount borrowed which could actually stand to put you in more debt after obtaining the payday loan.”

2. Take a cash advance on a different credit card
Have you ever heard the saying “robbing Peter to pay Paul”? Well that pretty much sums this process up. Taking a cash advance on a credit card is a very expensive proposition. There are normally fees charged for cash advances that start from the second you initiate the advance. In a nutshell, you don’t dig one hole to fill in another.

3. Use your 401(k) and / or other retirement savings
Bad idea. Any time you touch tax-advantaged retirement savings you get charged twice. You can look forward to paying a 10% penalty for early withdrawal, and then you’ll be taxed at your normal income tax rate for the amount withdrawn. When your borrow money from your 401(k), you are taking money that can generate additional growth in your retirement plan and affects your overall projected earnings.

Recommended: CreditorLink recommends using an interest free credit card as a way to help restore your credit rating without paying high interest! Click here to view our interest free credit card selection.

4. Pay it all off with a home equity loan
This option isn’t all bad, but only if you have financial discipline and are willing to put your home at risk. You’ll get lower interest rates and the deductibility of the interest payments. And a home equity loan can be relatively fast compared to a full-blown mortgage loan. But it isn’t a perfect plan, that’s for sure. Costs like origination fees, often aren’t talked about until well into the application process. And remember, you’re risking your home! Many times borrowers take out a home equity loan, then build up more credit card debt and get into worse situations than they started in. Home equity loans should be thought of as last resort only. Don’t get one if you already have bad credit, if you can’t afford to make your current mortgage payment or if you are not sure that you can make the home equity loan payments.

The best advice for credit card debt repair
Finding true freedom from debt is a matter of using your newly budgeted income to pay it off bit by bit until it is gone.It takes time and self-discipline to rid of credit card debt, but once you are free of its shackles, you will lift an enormous weight off your back. Finding a good interest free credit card is often a good next step. Think of this credit card as a debt consolidation loan; don’t carry it in your wallet. It’s simply a place to park your debt at no interest in order to begin cutting it down.