People everywhere are searching for credit card debt relief options. Thousands upon thousands of people owe thousands upon thousands of dollars to credit card companies. Is true credit card debt relief really possible? If you have the right guidance, it is. Here are 4 easy tasks to get control of your credit card debt.

1. Assess Your Total Credit Card Debt

You must understand exactly how bad the situation is. Take all of your recent credit card statements and total up all of your outstanding balances.

Most people avoid doing this because they do not want to know how much credit card debt they have.

The true total is usually much more credit card debt than the card holder thought it was going to be. However, if you are serious about credit card debt relief, you need to know exactly how much debt you really have.

2. Review Your Options

Once you know exactly how much debt you have, you need to review your options. In credit card debt relief, there are a number of services and solutions available to people just like you.

Most people turn to one of three solutions for credit card debt relief: debt consolidation, debt negotiation, or bankruptcy. Which of these solutions is right for you will depend on many things including exactly how much debt you are in, how much you make each month, and what your finances look like.

If you can afford to make reasonable monthly payment toward your debt each month, credit card debt consolidation may be the answer. If your credit is still in good shape, you can consolidate your debt yourself with a low-interest or no-interest (for an introductory period) credit card and pay towards the balance each month.

If your credit has suffered some bumps and bruises, you probably will not qualify for a low-interest credit card and you will need to seek the help of a non-profit credit card debt relief service. Many of these services can help you renegotiate your interest rates. You then pay the agency one monthly payment and they pay your credit cards directly.

If your credit has been somewhat trashed and you would rather get your creditors paid off without having to deal with monthly payments, debt negotiation may be your ideal choice for credit card debt relief. For this to work, you would need to be quite a bit behind in your credit card payments.

For credit card debt negotiation, you contact your creditors and tell them that you will pay them a percentage (usually 25 to 50 percent...START LOW) of what you owe if they will consider the payment as payment in full. This means if you owe a creditor $5,000, you offer $2,500 and ask them to write off the debt for that amount. You can also try to get in writing that they will remove the account from your credit completely for you to pay any of the debt. This does not always work, but sometimes it does (especially with collections).

If you can't afford a monthly payment and debt negotiation isn't an option, then you may want to consider bankruptcy.

No one likes the idea of filing bankruptcy, but some consumers really do need to start over again and bankruptcy may be the only option. There are 2 main types of bankruptcies for consumers. Chapter-7 and Chapter-13. Chapter-7 Bankruptcies allow you to say goodbye to all the debts you have. Chapter-13 Bankruptcies require that you pay back all or part of your debt, typically on a 3 to 5-year plan.

3. Make a Plan

Once you figure out what type of debt relief you are interested in, it's time to set a debt relief plan. In the case of credit card debt consolidation, you'll need to determine how you will consolidate your debt and exactly how much you can pay towards your debt each month.

In the case of debt negotiation, you'll need to determine exactly how much money you are going to offer your creditors and which ones you will contact first.

In the case of bankruptcy, you should probably obtain the services of a lawyer.

4. Follow the Plan

Once you know exactly what steps you need to take, it's time to put them in action. In the case of bankruptcy and debt negotiation, this is just a matter of taking the proper steps and executing them according to your plan.

With debt consolidation, however, a bit of willpower will be required.

Many people who consolidate their debt are excited to find out that their minimum monthly payments are often reduced.

This does not mean, however, that you should pay the minimum monthly payment. The purpose of credit card debt relief plans is to get out of debt as quickly as possible.

This means paying as much as you possibly can to your creditors each month.

Credit card debt relief rarely happens without a bit of sacrifice. whether that's sacrificing your credit with a bankruptcy history, sacrificing your budget by paying more towards your debt or sacrificing your savings with paying large amounts to satisfy your debt in full, the end result is always worth it.

And of course, once credit card debt relief is achieved, make sure you don't find yourself in the same situation again. Manage your debt wisely and let the sacrifices you make towards credit card debt relief serve as a lesson.