If you would like to stop using credit cards because you have not been able to use them the way that you had intended to use them, there are some things that you can do to make a transition over to a mostly cash (and debit card) based way of life. You may want to do this sooner rather than later, especially if you have quite a bit of credit card debt. In fact, if you have enough credit card debt that you are having trouble paying, the transition to a cash and debit card based existence may be forced upon you as no one will be willing to extend you any more credit.
The first thing that you should do is keep track of your spending for a month. Write every transaction and make note of what form of currency you used. You will need a clear picture of your spending in order to create a monthly budget. Next, set a goal of when you will complete your transition to a cash and debit card only lifestyle. If you set the goal for a couple of months from now, you can make the transition gradually and make adjustments to your budget as you go along that can increase our long term chances of success. Of course like I have mentioned before, you may not be able to transition gradually if your decision to stop using credit cards was made because yours are all maxed out and you cannot get any more.
If at all possible, transfer all of your balances onto one card, the one with the lowest interest rate. If you plan to apply for a mortgage any time soon, choose the one that you have had the longest even if the interest rate is higher because it helps your chances of getting a mortgage. Having one balance to pay down will help to keep things as simple as possible. Destroy all of the cards that you have transferred the balances from, and do not charge anything else on the card that you transferred your balances to.
Now that you have that taken care of, make a budget and stick to it. The total amount of your budget should be equal to or lesser than what you earn each month. Any money that you earn above and beyond what you need for the items in your budget can be divided between paying off that credit card balance and building up an emergency fund of three to six times your monthly budgeted expenses. You are now living a lifestyle where you are not accumulating credit card debt and where you are spending only what you earn. While you may feel a twinge of regret when you want an item that you cannot have because there is no room for it in the budget, do not forget that the financial security that you are building is worth much more than whatever that item is that you want.