By L. Sampson

Organize it!

Gather up all your debt statements. Take a piece of paper and list each account, the current balance, the current minimum payment and the current interest rate. Then organize your accounts, either from lowest balance to highest, or from highest interest rate to lowest. Its your choice, but many folks like to tackle the smallest debt first, because paying it off gives them a sense of accomplishment, which leads to more motivation to continue on the path of getting out of debt.

Pay it down!

Continue making the minimum payment on all your debts except the first one on your list. For that one, send a little extra money each month–whatever you can afford. In no time at all youll see that balance equal zero! Then its time to take the amount you were sending to that account and tack it onto the payment of the next account on the list. Keep this up, and your debt payments will snowball until youre totally debt free!

Consolidate it!

Cant keep track of all your accounts? Got too many debts to count? You might want to consider debt consolidation. Through a loan of your own (such as a Home Equity Loan), or a credit card transfer, or even a Debt Consolidation Company, you can consolidate your debt into one monthly bill. If you find that more manageable, it may help you get a handle on your finances.

Just remember: whether you choose to create a list of your accounts or consolidate your debt into one single account, youll get it paid off faster if you always pay more than minimum each month.

Visit Debt Sanity to view our Recommended Debt Consolidators online. Also, visit Debt Sanity for more Debt Consolidation Advice.