With credit card interest rates reaching record highs, it's may be becoming more and more difficult for some Florida residents to manage their credit card debt. Currently, the average interest rate on a credit card is 14.72%, and those with poor credit scores can find themselves with extremely high interest rates up to 59.9% APR.

Recently, the CARD Act helped to provide some relief to credit card users by capping certain fees and requiring additional disclosure from creditors. Unfortunately, the CARD Act did nothing to lower or cap interest rates. Instead, the act only prevented banks from retroactively increasing rates, which means many are now looking for debt relief options.

When attempting to manage debt, it's important to first check your credit score at all three of the major credit reporting bureaus. Your score will give you a good idea of the interest rate you can expect when opening a new credit card account. If your score is below 599, you might not be able to get a card at all. If you do, expect rate above 24%. Even those with a fair score up to 649 will receive a rate hovering around 20%.

While this information is good for people who are thinking of opening a credit card, it doesn't do too much for those who already have mounting debt. For those who are looking to pay off credit card debt and take back control of their finances there are many options, including debt consolidation and also bankruptcy. However, it's important to keep in mind that while consolidating is one option, it can often get costly with huge services fees.

Before making any decision related to debt consolidation or bankruptcy it's best to learn about all of the different debt solutions that are available and then make a choice that would best fit individual circumstances.

Source: CNN Money, "Credit card rates at record highs," Blake Ellis, 3 Feb 2011