How do you pay off all that credit card debt?

Like the holiday pounds, credit card debt doesn’t just melt away — especially after the latest binge.

The cold reality is credit card debt hit a record $1.02 trillion in November, according to the Federal Reserve. Americans racked up on average $1,054 in debt during the holiday season, according to MagnifyMoney.

About half of consumers surveyed admit it will take more than three months to pay off holiday spending, according to MagnifyMoney. Some could need five months or longer.

What can you do to juggle all those credit card bills and avoid drowning in a debt trap?

First, imagine what you could do, if you had no credit card bills.

Lauren Zangardi Haynes, a financial adviser who has a blog called WordsonWealth. com, said some of her younger clients are motivated to cut down expenses to pay down debt once they think about their dreams.

Without all the credit card bills, they could save more money for a down payment on a home, take a big trip or take a risk like switching careers.

Many times, young couples start having children and realize they need to set aside money for their children’s college education or retirement.

“It’s like ‘Oh, wait a second, I need to get some things in order,’” said Zangardi Haynes, a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

Two strategies exist: The avalanche or the snowball.

Typically, if you want to save the most in interest charges, you’d take a strategy to pay the monthly minimum required on each credit card to avoid fees — and then apply as much money as possible toward the credit card that charges the highest interest rate.

Once that card is paid off, you add more money to the next highest-rate card and then the next until you pay off all your cards. Zangardi Haynes calls that approach the avalanche, as the payoff can be huge and fairly swift.

But the snowball approach can be a little more fun, she said. Again, you’d make your minimum monthly payment on each card. But then aim to put most of your money toward the credit card with the smallest balance. That way wou’d pay off the first credit card more quickly and then move to the next card with a small balance to pay that one off, too.

Follow interest rates

Don’t just toss any notices or mail from your credit card issuer. You might discover that you’re looking at a rate increase on your card. Read your monthly statements. Under the law, your card issuer in many cases must provide you with a written 45-day notice of an increase in a rate or other significant changes.

A “significant change” would include an increase in the minimum payment and other changes, including the late payment fee.

Watch out, you do not always get an advance notice of a rate hike: You’re not getting a 45-day heads-up if rates edge higher after a Fed rate hike.

Rate increases because of

Fed rate hikes apply to outstanding balances, too — not just future balances.

The Fed has raised rates five times since late 2015 — and some expect two or three more Fed rate hikes in 2018.