Consumers Deal With Holiday Debt Hangover
2 hours, 30 minutes ago

By EILEEN ALT POWELL, AP Business Writer

_ The final step is to take that extra money and apply it to credit card balances. Dvorkin, who is the author of the soon-to-be-published "Credit Hell: How to Dig Out of Debt," suggests consumers first go after the balance on the card charging the highest interest rate.

"You should be paying at least three times the minimum on that one," he said. He also said it's important for consumers to switch to cash and debit cards until their debt is under control.

"If you're paying down debt and, at the same time, charging more, you're like a hamster on an exercise wheel running around in a circle," Dvorkin said.

Both Dvorkin and Jones said consumers who feel they need help should consult credit counselors, who can help them work out budget plans or get them into debt consolidation programs.

Dvorkin's site is www.consolidatedcredit.org. Two associations of nonprofit agencies maintain Web sites: The National Foundation for Credit Counseling at www.nfcc.org and Jones' Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies at www.aicca.org.

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