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So how bad is it, this debt situation? Do you just want to pay off your mortgage and credit cards to be debt free or are you in over your head and you carry a deck of credit cards in a box because they won't fit in your wallet?

Is it worse than that? Are you on the verge of going into hiding because you are afraid of big, burley men with tattoos coming to see you?

Well before you change your telephone number, again and begin shuffling your credit cards in desperation let's try to work out why you are in debt to start with.

Discovering how you got into debt is very important because there is no way you are going to be able to get off the money owing merry-go-round unless you know how you got on in the first place. There is no point in trying to reduce your debt until you know the cause of your debt accumulating ways so you can nip them bud. When you have worked out where the problem lies then you will be able to pay off your debt.

Obviously you are in this predicament because you are spending more than you earn. In order to remedy this situation you have to do one of two things - or both. Increase your income and/or cut your spending.

You can increase your income by getting a second job or doing casual work such as cleaning, lawn mowing, letterbox delivery, gardening, ironing, babysitting etc. or take in a boarder if you have a spare room. Check your local paper for people requiring these services or needing lodgings.

If it is not possible to take on extra work you are going to have to look at your spending.

Do you eat a lot of takeaway food, go to expensive restaurants or go shopping for therapy coming home with lots of things you don't need? Well, from now on all luxuries and extravagances are going to have to stop if you want to have any hope of clearing your debt.

The only things you will be spending money on now are bare necessities like groceries, transport, utility bills, any outstanding liabilities you currently have and your rent/mortgage.

Now lets take a magnifying glass to your transport and grocery expenditure.

Starting with transport, if it is practical try and use public transport whenever you can, especially if you work in the city. This will cut down on your petrol and parking costs. If you own a bike maybe you could cycle to work or start a car pool so everyone shares the cost. You could consider selling your car to pay off some of your debt if it turns out you are not really driving it anymore.

OK, groceries. This will probably be painful. No more junk

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