<prompt> Human: I have about 17k worth of credit card debt between four cards and Im starting to drown in the minimum monthly payments. Two of them arent bad but the other two are dragging me down. One card is over limit and my credit has taken a hit. What are my options to work this debt down since Im barely surviving paycheck to paycheck?  <response>: The bigger problem is how did you get in this mess in the first place.Because, really, the credit card debt is a symptom of the problem, not the underlying problem. Not that you necessarily have a habit of spending more than you make, but the fact that this is spread out over 4 credit cards does suggest it might be.Also, it is very common for a lot of people to budget for their known expenses and set absolutely nothing aside for the unexpected which statistically happens several times a year, more if you have kids, cars, pets or own a house.Step one is always to get your spending under control, because if you cant do that, nothing else matters. 