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You are at the point in your life where you have come to the conclusion that you must manage your debt.

In order to manage your debt you must first think about how and where you spend your money. Think about what is important to you and about your long-term goals.

To begin your debt management, start by saving all of your receipts and go through them. It won't do you any good to try to manage your debt if you do not realize what your spending habits are. Do you spend frivolously without thinking about long-term consequences?

Sometimes people might think that if only I earned more, but in reality it is not about how much money you earn, it is really about making better spending choices.

For example, if you are trying to save money or if you have a lot of debt, maybe belonging to the movie club or getting your nails done every week isn't the better choice. We all must learn how to live within our financial range, so don't be concerned about trying to keep up with your neighbors because the majority of people these days have too much debt, so chances are they probably are in debt too.

Decide if having immediate temporary satisfaction is more important than something of long-term value. The better choice could be having a home and money in a savings account, or how about a retirement account. It is about learning to make good spending decisions.

Say no more overdraft fees begin by making sure to balance your checkbook every month. A good rule of thumb is to come up with a certain amount that you never go under, doing this will give you a little bit of room if you make a mistake or forget to subtract a check that you have written.

Next, it is important to make your budget, write down your total monthly income, and all of your expenses you think you are going to have. At the end of the month, in the column next to your approximated budget write down what you actually paid, and total your difference. Did you spend more on things with little or no importance than you anticipated? Did you include things like birthdays in your budget? Did you include yourself in the budget? Remember, you need to budget for your future goals, the things that are really important to you, something that you really want. If you spend that money on spur of the moment purchases or waste it on penalties and fees it takes you away from you long-term goals.

You may also need to make monthly expense worksheet. A monthly expense worksheet is a worksheet that contains all of your expenses with a total at the bottom, make it two columns one column will be the amount you pay for the month the other will be the complete total you owe.

Stop using your credit cards until you have gotten your debt under control, and payoff all your credit card balances then decide which credit cards you want to keep and cancel the rest. If you can't pay your credit card bill off, be sure to pay more than the minimum payment due on your bill even if it is just five or ten dollars, this will help you to pay toward the principle.

Say no more to late penalties and fees, pay your bills on time. Doing so will eliminate all your late payment penalties and fees as well as it will raise your credit score over time. Mailing in your payments past the due dates is recorded on your credit report and lowers your credit score.

Watching out for debt management is no easy task, but you can do it with discipline and patience. You are learning about yourself and your spending habits. Soon, with self-control and little practice you will be on your way to making better financial decisions.

Learn more about this author, Jeanie Pitner.
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