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You're listening to LifeKit from NPR.

Hey, it's Mariel.

Okay, raise your hand if you have credit card debt.

If we were in a room together, I'd guess about half the hands would go up.

According to a 2025 bank rate survey, about 46% of respondents were carrying a balance on a credit card from

month to month. So it's common, right? The Credit Bureau, TransUnion, puts the average

credit card balance at about $6,300. That can feel like a lot to get out from under, especially

if your budget is already tight.

And then if you're paying 20% interest or higher, and that's common for credit cards,

that pile of debt just grows and grows.

But there is a path out of credit card debt.

And on this episode of Life Kit, I'm going to share five takeaways that will help you find that path.

We'll talk about how to use credit cards to your advantage, how to negotiate with your

card issuer, and get on a payment schedule you can actually follow, and what to do if your

debt ends up in collections.

Also, I want to say Life Kit just launched a newsletter series on this topic.

It is packed with information and will give you a

step-by-step plan so you can crunch the numbers, map out your payments, and ultimately stay

off the hamster wheel of credit card debt. You can sign up at npr.org slash credit card debt.

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