-- Pay off the card with the lowest balance first. You put the bulk of the money allocated for paying down debt toward the card with the smallest balance while making the minimum payment on other cards with larger balances. When the smallest balance is paid in full, you then put all your payback funds toward the card with the next lowest balance. This is the method I recommend. In my experience of advising people how to pay off their debt, there's a psychological boost when people can quickly knock debts off their list.

-- Pay off the highest balance first. CRMA says borrowers with large balances -- especially those that comprise more than 50 percent of the total line of credit -- have become especially vulnerable to having their credit limits reduced. By concentrating on credit cards that are maxed out or close to being maxed out, consumers work toward getting their balances below 30 percent of their credit lines, which helps boost their credit scores.

It's important for consumers to find the most effective debt repayment method, the newsletter points out, given that Americans currently owe $917 billion on revolving credit lines and almost all of it is a result of charging purchases to credit cards. It's also useful for the many credit card holders who are receiving notices of hikes in their interest rates.

So which debt repayment method is best?

"As long as you stick to it, any of the approaches we've highlighted here have merit," CRMA found. "You can even change tactics midstream -- for instance, pay down a high-balance credit card first, then, when that balance is below 30 percent, switch to paying the card with the highest APR. The greatest challenge will be resisting the temptation to backslide toward making only minimum payments."

I know this is an unusual selection for a book club, but I've been reading the newsletter for some time and just thought it was so well written and easy to understand that it's a must-have to help you navigate the world of personal finance.

It's easy to be a member of the book club. We don't meet -- at least not in person. We come together for a live online discussion. Join me Oct. 22 at noon Eastern time at washingtonpost.com. Perrotta will join me to answer your personal finance questions.

Every month, I randomly select readers to receive a copy of the featured book, donated by the publisher. This month the publisher is offering a limited number of 12-month newsletter subscriptions. For a chance to win, send an e-mail to colorofmoney(at)washpost.com with your name and address. If you don't win a subscription, there's still a chance you may get a copy of the current October issue of the Consumer Reports Money Adviser.