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One of the great benefits of living cheaply is that, over time, you eventually get to live a life free of debt.  In the early years, it's alright to have a mortgage or have a car loan but most cheapsters, young and old, pay their credit cards in full and avoid consumer debt like the plague.  But, for whatever reason, people do get into serious debt and when they reach their credit limits, they find themselves obliged to do the tough work of digging themselves out of the hole.  Here are some critical steps that will help you get out of debt and stay out of debt.

Identify How You Got into Debt:

If your credit card balance is $25,000 and your annual income is $60,000, nobody needs to tell you that you have a problem - you know that already.  But do you know how you got there?  Resist the urge to put together a debt reduction plan before spending a little time figuring out how you got into the situation in the first place.

It might take a bit of time to get the paperwork together and break down the numbers.  Your credit cards may have a mix of everything from groceries to luxury vacations.  But there are a couple of key things to look for when you're going through this exercise.

• Determine how long it took to get to your present level.  Was it 5 years or 5 months?
• Figure out the major non-essential expenditures you charged to your card. If it took you a while to build up your debt level - on average, how much were you putting yourself in the hole every month

Armed with this knowledge, you will be able to take the appropriate action to reduce your expenditures.

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amp  - Credit Cards - To whom we owe more than our first |2009-12-15 14:50:29 When we were getting out of college - we used to joke that we all owed our firstborn to Citibank - It seems I owe them all my future children and my grandchildren - and I am not alone! We have talked about credit card debt over the years - and one of the key characteristics is that it has a tendency to return, in greater force than previously encountered. If this is your weakness - you must keep on top of how you spend - UNFORTUNATELY, today's environment encourages the use of credit cards (check the looks you get at the check-out line when you write a check or even pay cash!). Reply 2 0

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