Take The First Step to Get Out of Debt...

by making a budget.

Get out a piece of paper and write down all of your bills for each month. Food, gas, TV, internet, mortgage/rent, electric/gas, phone, water, credit cards and loans etc...

Now, add them up. What is the dollar amount you need to pay all your bills each month?

Write down what your take home pay (after taxes) pay is. Is that number higher or lower than the amount you need for your bills? The goal is to have the amount you spend on your bills much lower than the amount you earn each month. The more money you have leftover, the more you'll have for paying off and credit cards and loans.

This may seem like a simple task, but the hard part for many is not spending more than you budget for. The reason many people are in debt is because they spend MORE than they make. Make a budget and stick to it.

More details on making and keeping a budget will come later.