Here's just one reason to start managing your credit debt now: If you should ever not pay a credit card balance, that blotch stays on your record and can prevent you from getting a car loan, a mortgage or a plain old department store credit card. (If you should ever declare bankruptcy, forget it -- it will be on your credit record and affect your credit rating for seven to 10 years.)

Here are some things you should know about getting off the revolving credit merry-go-round:

1. Pay more than the minimum payment each month, if you ever hope to pay off your credit card debt. You must also pay on time or a finance charge will be added onto the total, creating a larger minimum payment for the next month -- and a larger finance charge added to the total again if you don't pay it.

2. Get a system for credit card debt reduction. You need your own deadline each month for paying bills. There are great software programs for keeping track of your financial records (and even writing checks). Quicken, by Intuit, is a popular money-management program. So is Microsoft's Managing Your Money.